Canberra Raiders Archives

Raiders Statement - John McIntyre

The Canberra Raiders will use a week long camp on the Central Coast this week to prepare for their round 14 match against the Knights in Newcastle.

The camp is aimed at bringing the playing group together and working on improving their current position.

Raiders Chairman John McIntyre urged members to stick by the club and the club was just as disappointed with the results as the members are.

“We aren’t happy with the position we’re in at the moment, but I know the coaching staff and playing group are 100 per cent committed to turning things around on the field,” Mr McIntyre said. “This camp is in place for the group to come together and determine why they’re not getting these results and the board and I support the initiative.”

McIntyre also confirmed that rumours and speculation regarding the Head Coach were just that and said David Furner would remain the Coach of the club.

“There has been no board meeting scheduled regarding David Furner’s position and he remains the Head Coach of the Canberra Raiders.”

Source: Raiders

Raiders quash coaching rumours

Canberra Raiders have moved to shut down rumours they are planning to axe embattled coach David Furner.



The Raiders have made a dismal start to the season, winning just four games and lying second from bottom on the table.

Furner told Grandstand he was surprised by the statement and said "hard work" is the solution to Canberra's problems.

"Personally I've never walked away from any challenge," Furner said.

"I see this as a good challenge and so do the players."

Speculation was rife on social media that Furner's job was under review but the coach himself said his main focus was the performance of his players.

"I can't control social media and what's put on it," Furner said.

"I've just got to control what's in my hands ... which is the team."

Raiders chairman John McIntyre released a statement quashing rumours of Furner's demise.

"There has been no board meeting scheduled regarding David Furner's position and he remains the head coach of the Canberra Raiders," McIntyre said in the statement.

He urged fans to stick by the club despite finals football looking an increasingly distant prospect.

"We aren't happy with the position we're in at the moment, but I know the coaching staff and playing group are 100 per cent committed to turning things around on the field," McIntyre said.

Furner is contracted until 2014 but despite guiding Canberra to the 2010 finals, he has struggled to turn the Raiders into a genuine premiership force.

The Raiders will spend a week in camp ahead of their round 14 clash with the Knights in Newcastle, with the move aimed at unifying the playing group.

Source: ABC

Raiders must change but not me, says David Furner

DAVID Furner admits Canberra needs something different to turn things around; the only stipulation he attaches to that claim is that any change won't be beginning with his job.

The Raiders coach yesterday responded to Twitter rumours he was poised to tender his resignation to the club's board, following the Raiders' humiliating 40-0 loss at home to Wests Tigers on Saturday night.

But respond is probably a poor choice of words when you consider that Furner -- who has been at the Raiders since 2009 but has been subject to speculation this year that Ricky Stuart could replace him next season -- gave any question regarding his future at the club short shrift.

Was there any truth to the rumour he was handing in his resignation. "Nope." Any idea where they came from? "Guys, I think you'd have a better idea than me. For me it's just about concentrating on a game, and that's all I can do." Has the board spoken to you about your position? "No mate."

What Furner was happy to talk about was the camp the players are about to attend on the central coast to attempt to turn things around before Saturday night's game against Newcastle.

"I think the players have put their hand up," Furner said.

"We need to look at that as individual accountability. I think they've taken that responsibility.

"We just need to go out there and play a nice, aggressive-type football game this weekend."

Source: The Australian

Raiders NRL Team List - Round 14 v Knights

CANBERRA RAIDERS v NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS



Round 14, 2012 NRL Premiership
Saturday, June 9, 2012
NRL Kick-Off 7.30pm
Hunter Stadium, Newcastle
Game Tag: #NRLNEWCAN
Referees: TBA

| RAIDERS TEAM NEWS |

The Canberra Raiders have named an extended squad to tackle the Knights at Hunter Sports Stadium on Saturday night, with the final team to be decided after the clubs final training session on Friday morning.

Dane Tilse has been named to start the match for the Raiders with David Shillington named for Queensland, while Matt McIlwrick has been named on an extended bench to cover for Shaun Berrigan who was ruled out today for 4-6 weeks with a bicep injury.

Berrigan’s injury will not require surgery, however the grade two tear will keep him sidelined for two weeks further than initially diagnosed.

Bronson Harrison joins the extended bench along with Mark Nicholls, Trevor Thurling and Sam Williams.

| ROUND 14 NRL TEAM LIST |
1. Reece ROBINSON
2. Dimitri PELO
3. Jarrod CROKER
4. Blake FERGUSON
5. Edrick LEE
6. Josh DUGAN
7. Josh McCRONE
8. Dane TILSE
9. Travis WADDELL
10. Tom LEAROYD-LAHRS
11. Josh PAPALII
12. Joel THOMPSON
13. Shaun FENSOM
BENCH:
14. Matt McILWRICK
15. Bronson HARRISON
16. Sam MATAORA
17. Joe PICKER
18. Trevor THURLING
19. Mark NICHOLLS
20. Sam WILLIAMS
Coach: David FURNER

INJURY WARD
Shaun BERRIGAN (Bicep) Round 18-20
Jack WIGHTON (Toe) Indefinite
Glen BUTTRISS (Sternum) Indefinite
Brett WHITE (Knee) Season
Terry CAMPESE (Knee) Season

Source: Raiders

Knights make more than Origin forced changes

The Newcastle Knights have named an 18-man team for Saturday night’s Round 14 clash against the Canberra Raiders at Hunter Stadium.

Coach Wayne Bennett was forced to make two changes due to the Origin selection of Darius Boyd and Akuila Uate, but he has also made another three changes to this weekend’s line-up.

Peter Mata’utia, who made his debut in 2011, will make his first appearance in the NRL this season at fullback while Kevin Naiqama will play his second NRL game of 2012, replacing Uate on the wing.

New recruit Dane Gagai, who was officially released from the Brisbane Broncos this week, will made his debut for the Knights in the centres with Timana Tahu, who returns to the team after recovering from a virus.

Meanwhile, Zeb Taia returns to the Knights interchange bench after playing last weekend in the NSW Cup. Wes Naiqama and Richie Fa’aoso return to the NSW Cup team whilst Junior Sa’u has been named as 18th man.

NRL Round 14 Team:

1. Peter Mata’utia
2. James McManus
3. Dane Gagai
4. Timana Tahu
5. Kevin Naiqama
6. Jarrod Mullen
7. Tyrone Roberts
8. Kade Snowden
9. Danny Buderus (c)
10. Willie Mason
11. Chris Houston
12. Joel Edwards
13. Neville Costigan
Interchange
14. Chris Adams
15. Zeb Taia
16. Adam Cuthbertson
17. Alex McKinnon
18. Junior Sa’u

Canberra have named a 20-man extended team: 1. Reece Robinson 2. Dimitri Pelo 3. Jarrod Croker 4. Blake Ferguson 5. Edrick Lee 6. Josh Dugan 7. Josh Mccrone 8. Dane Tilse 9. Travis Waddell 10. Tom Learoyd-Lahrs 11. Josh Papalii 12. Joel Thompson 13. Shaun Fensom. Interchange: 14. Matt Mcilwrick 15. Bronson Harrison 16. Sam Mataora 17. Joe Picker 18. Trevor Thurling 19. Mark Nicholls 20. Sam Williams.

Round 14 Game Details:

Knights v Raiders
Saturday June 9
Gates open: 3:15pm
Newcastle v Maitland U12s: 3:30pm
NYC: 5.15pm
NRL: 7.30pm
Venue: Hunter Stadium
Twitter Hashtag: #goKnights

Source: Raiders

Raiders bunker down together in bid to bond

The Canberra Raiders are bunkering down and bunking together as they attempt to restore team pride and unity ahead of Saturday's must-win match against the Newcastle Knights.

The Raiders have set up camp in Swansea, just south of Newcastle, in response to the horror form slump that has seen them drop to second last on the NRL ladder.

In a further bid to have his players bond, Raiders coach David Furner has roomed the 20-man squad together in only three separate apartments - roommates decided randomly by drawing names out of a hat.

Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/raiders-bunker-down-together-in-bid-to-bond-20120605-1zujt.html#ixzz1wyEcPWJT

From the Stands - Round 14

The coach described Saturday night’s performance as “embarrassing”. I don’t think there could be a Raiders fan that doesn’t agree with that assessment. I cannot remember a game when we looked so far off the mark. In fact I was trying to think of a word to describe the performance and then someone came up with what I thought was exactly the right word – inept.

For me personally, I had to walk away from the friends I was sitting with and watched the second half alone. I didn’t want to talk to anyone during the game, I just sat there in disbelief wondering how this club was going to turn it around.

There has since been a lot of speculation about the coach’s position and the Board’s reaction to the loss on Saturday night and I don’t think I would be doing this column justice if I didn’t put forward my views on the situation. But I do have to stress that whilst this column appears on the Raiders official website, it is purely my opinion as a loyal member, and not all my views are necessarily shared by Raiders management.

Firstly, I have found David Furner to be an absolute quality person in every way. The respect that he held for him in the rugby league community in immense and his love for our club is unmatched. Furthermore, I have always believed that he is a quality coach that can deliver us to the upper rungs of the NRL ladder.

However, any coach in this competition is judged by his results and the results since a very promising season in 2010 have not been good. At the end of 2010, I think we all believed the Raiders were destined to great heights. Yes, there have been set backs that no one thought would occur – Terry Campese has played very few games, Josh Dugan has had numerous injuries, Matt Orford didn’t work out, Joel Monaghan was forced out and Alan Tongue retired earlier than was previously expected are all factors in us not performing as well as expected.

On the flip side, new recruits from other clubs in White, Ferguson and Berrigan would all be regarded as successes (I know two of them are injured at the moment) whilst we have brought in young players such as Josh Papalii and Jack Wighton who were unheard of back in 2010 but are now regular senior players with big futures. Josh McCrone has also gone from being a player who perhaps wasn’t favoured when Orford was recruited and this week will be club captain. From that success in 2010 we have won just 10 games, finished second bottom last year and are second bottom this year.

So all of that means the coach is under a lot of pressure and quite rightly so. To me the easy way out would be to get rid of the coach and pretend everything is going to be alright. From the outside looking in, the problems are deeper than the coach. I think it is common knowledge that some players celebrated harder after the Warriors win than they should have and the actions of Dugan and Ferguson a couple of weeks ago were completely unprofessional and counter to the courage and professionalism they have shown on the field.

The only way you are successful in this competition is when you are getting the best out of the players you have. The salary cap distributes the talent across the competition and it is obvious that Raiders management have made the decision to retain our extremely talented juniors and to do that we have had to pay them salaries that perhaps have been more commensurate with their potential than their current standing in the game. When those players are not performing or not developing as you would have liked, for whatever reason including not preparing themselves as they should, it stands to reason that your results are going to be sub-standard, regardless of the coach.

Many Raiders fans will disagree, but I thought the Board showed a level of maturity this week that many other Boards in sport would not have done. Their first reaction after a result like last Saturday night was not “who can we get rid of” but “what can we do to help.” That to me is LEADERSHIP.

The result is the players and coaches are going on a camp this week to prepare for the game against Newcastle. I would imagine there will be some home truths come out in that camp and for some they won’t like what they hear. Will it work? I really hope so because if it doesn’t I think the Board will be forced to make changes, but some of those who are left could well look at themselves in the mirror and ask whether they got the right man.

Saturday’s match against Newcastle is likely to define the future of our club and the futures of some individuals within it. Now is the time more than ever for everyone involved in this great club to show exactly what that green jersey means to them.

From the stands is a weekly opinion written by a Raiders member

Source: Raiders