Raiders to walk finals tightrope once again
Two weeks ago it looked impossible, but all of a sudden there's some life in the Canberra Raiders' flickering finals flame.
Consecutive wins against Melbourne and Canterbury have arrested a horror eight-match losing run, and with influential playmaker Terry Campese on the cusp of returning from a knee injury, there's suddenly some belief at the Raiders.
Canberra still heads into this weekend's bye propping up the NRL table, six points adrift of the top eight and likely needing to win at least nine of its last 13 games to secure a finals berth.
Last year the Raiders found themselves in a similar spot they'd won four times to this point, just one more than this year, and still finished seventh.
Four more losses followed last season's round-12 bye before the Green Machine managed eight wins in its last nine games to gallop into the finals.
It's a stellar run the players still talk about, and something the club hopes to draw upon as it attempts to make history repeat.
But Bronson Harrison knows dwelling on the past can be a double-edged sword.
The backrower, one of the Raiders' best as they forged their run to the second week of the finals last season, said peering into the footy crystal ball this early in the season was fraught with danger.
''We reflected on that but we know that it's not 2010, and it's not going to come by itself,'' Harrison said.
''It has to come with us doing the hard yards and making sure that we bring our game each week, and make sure that we defend properly.
''I don't really want to be talking about finals footy, we've got more important things. We've still got a long way to go. Having lost all those games in a row we put a whole lot of pressure on ourselves.''
This weekend's bye kicks off a crucial six-week period for the Raiders.
In round 13 they host the high-flying Cowboys, and could be boosted by the inclusion of Campese.
Then comes a trip to Brisbane to play the Broncos, who will be without the likes of State of Origin stars Darren Lockyer, Sam Thaiday, Corey Parker and Jharal Yow Yeh.
Canberra's second bye precedes games against Parramatta, the Sydney Roosters and Cronulla.
The draw then gets much more difficult with matches against St George Illawarra, Melbourne and the New Zealand Warriors.
A best-case scenario of five wins in Canberra's next five games would move the club to the bottom half of the top eight.
At the other end of the spectrum, another run of losses would be catastrophic and would almost consign the club to a wooden spoon.
But Harrison had no interest in returning to the record-equalling depths the club sank to before beating the Storm two rounds ago.
HISTORY REPEATS?
RAIDERS GUNNING FOR FINALS
2010 AFTER 11 ROUNDS
4 wins, 6 losses, 11th
Lost 4 of the next 5 after the round 12 bye. Won 8 of last 9 to finish 7th
2011 AFTER 11 ROUNDS
3 wins, 8 losses, 16th
THE RUN HOME
Round 12: Bye
Round 13: Cowboys (H)
Round 14: Broncos (A)
Round 15: Bye
Round 16: Eels (H)
Round 17: Roosters (A)
Round 18: Sharks (A)
Round 19: Storm (H)
Round 20: Dragons (H)
Round 21: Warriors (A)
Round 22: Knights (A)
Round 23: Rabbitohs (H)
Round 24: Titans (A)
Round 25: Panthers (H)
Round 26: Bulldogs (A)
Source The Canberra Times
Topic: Raiders to walk finals tightrope once again
