The men from the nation’s capital took a couple of weeks to get going in 2022, posting losses to the Jets and the Bulldogs, before a decisive 47-24 win over the Magpies in Round Three – which became their highest score for the season.
The Raiders enjoyed another 11 wins but drifted in and out of form. That was followed by four straight losses from Rounds 18-21 before they finished strongly with three straight victories.
The ebb-and-flow from the Raiders cost them dearly after they finished sixth on The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup ladder - just one win shy of the finals.
That would have been a concern for new coach Joel Carbone in his first year, although the Raiders didn’t slip from where they finished in 2021 – seventh.
There were six players who earned NRL debuts in 2022 which could explain some of the inconsistency. They included James Schiller, Adrian Trevilyan, Harry Rushton, Zac Woolford, Trey Mooney, and Ata Moriota.
From the nine losses, just three were by 10 points or less. The Raiders only need to shore up their defence to break free of the middle of the ladder finishes.
Read more season reviews: Sea Eagles, Magpies, Mounties, Knights, Rabbitohs, Dragons
Season highlight
Revenge can be sweet and the Raiders had a sugar hit in Round 14 with a 34-12 win over competition leaders, and eventual champions, Penrith Panthers.
The Panthers beat the Green Machine 44-12 in Round Seven but the Raiders belief returned off the back of an upset 30-22 win over eventual Minor Premiers, the Newtown Jets.
They led 22-6 at half-time off the back of four tries to one in the opening 40 minutes before adding another two in the second, while skipper Brad Schneider landed five from six conversions.
The Panthers had all their stars onboard – in fact 10 from their premiership-winning starting 13.
NSW Cup Highlights | Raiders v Panthers - Round 14
Simply the best
Prop Ata Mariota managed five tries, 25 offloads and an average of 121 run metres in 2022, which made him a necessity for the NSWRL’s ‘Team Of The Year’ list.
Mariota’s efforts also earned him Canberra’s NSW Cup Coaches Award at the club’s end-of-season dinner.
His front row partner Peter Hola, who was named the Raiders’ Player of the Year for The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup, wasn’t that far behind his teammate. He scored five tries, had 14 offloads, 41 tackle-busts and made 115 metres per game.
Albert Hopoate played nine NSW Cup games (seven in NRL) and topped his teammates with eight tries. He was a handful for oppositions after making six line-breaks and 28 tackle-busts from his nine matches.
By the numbers
Along with the Jets and Sea Eagles, the Raiders had the third-highest set completions in NSW Cup at 76 per cent.
Defensively they were the fourth lowest for missed tackles in the competition. Those two statistics give the Raiders a good base to build up from in 2023.
