Berrigan risk pays off for Raiders
With the Matt Orford fiasco still fresh in most minds, more than one eyebrow was raised when the Canberra Raiders trumpeted the signing of fellow veteran Shaun Berrigan.
But the club’s ‘‘calculated risk’’ has paid off, the 34-year-old’s experience and versatility proving invaluable in the Raiders march to the finals this year.
Last season Canberra signed Orford as cover for the injured Terry Campese, but parted ways with the halfback after injuries restricted him to just six games in the first year of a three year deal.
But while that gamble came up snake eyes, the Raiders have hit the jackpot with Berrigan.
The former Queensland Origin star has been an invaluable ‘Mr Fix-It’ for the Raiders, especially given their horrific injury toll this year.
He has played mostly at centre or hooker, but will find himself in the halves against the Warriors in Auckland on Sunday should halfback Sam Williams be ruled out with a shoulder injury.
Berrigan played for the Warriors last year, and missed their charge to the grand final through injury.
‘‘Everyone you sign at any age, but particularly that age, is a huge risk,’’ Raiders boss Don Furner admitted yesterday.
‘‘Berro was a risk but he’s been great, but Orford could have been great too. Everyone’s an expert after the event, you just don’t know.
‘‘Definitely everyone sits back and looks at people’s ages, he had a good run [with injury] up until then.
‘‘They’re all calculated risks and all gambles, he could have stepped out in the first game or at training and done a shoulder or knee, you just don’t know.’’
The pain of missing the Warriors’ grand final loss to Manly last year is driving Berrigan, a multiple premiership winner at Brisbane.
‘‘I just want to win this week and be part of a finals series again,’’ Berrigan said.
‘‘Last year I was struck down by injury late in the season and missed out on it, so I really want to be a part of it again.
‘‘I think any team that doesn’t make the finals in this day and age would see it as a failure, that’s what you train for and with the squad we’ve got we should be there.’’
After they snapped Canterbury’s 12 game winning streak with a rousing 34-6 victory on Friday, the Raiders will head to Auckland as clear favourites.
But Berrigan warned they can’t take a Warriors team lightly which will be desperate to send off retiring stalwart Micheal Luck in style. ‘‘He’s well respected by all the players over there, I’m sure they’ll be pumped to have a big game to send him off,’’ Berrigan said.
Berrigan appears likely to take up a contract option to play on with Canberra next year, which is keen for him to stay.
‘‘For sure [I want to play on], the body feels good by I’m just taking it game by game and wait and see what happens at the end of the year,’’ he said.
‘‘I’m not looking too far ahead at the moment, I just really want to win this week and be part of a finals series.’’
Raiders coach David Furner lauded Berrigan’s composure as a key ingredient in his side’s late season revival.
‘‘With Berro’s experience, what you do notice is he takes a lot of control when he gets on the field, and his ability to be able to play a number of positions has been key,’’ Furner said.
Furner added he will used Berrigan’s inside knowledge of the Warriors to his advantage this week.
‘‘No doubt, he knows what their strengths and weaknesses are,’’ he said.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/berrigan-risk-pays-off-for-raiders-20120827-24vy2.html#ixzz24ispF0A7
Topic: High Profile Signing Pays Off for Raiders
