Raiders are contenders: Farah, LewisSeveral NRL superstars have defied the bookmakers and rated the Canberra Raiders a genuine threat for the premiership.
Raiders co-captains Alan Tongue and Terry Campese got acquainted with the game's most treasured trophy at yesterday's season launch in Sydney.
While newly-crowned world club champions the St George-Illawarra Dragons are red-hot favourites to defend their title, the Raiders are viewed as one of the sides most likely to rain on their parade.
Wests Tigers captain Robbie Farah was blown away by the Raiders' sensational end to last year.
Ironically, it was the Tigers which cut short Canberra's season with a memorable two-point victory in the semi-final.
''I think so,'' Farah said when asked if the Raiders were premiership contenders.
''I was really impressed with them last year.
''They've added Matty Orford to the side and Brett White and they've got some really good youngsters coming through.
''[Josh] Dugan's one of the best young players in the game, Jarrod Croker, [Daniel] Vidot, the list goes on.
''I think with the massive forward pack they've got, they're definitely a dark horse for me.''
Bookmakers refuse to recognise the Raiders' top-four potential though, installing the Green Machine on the eighth line of betting at $15 with ACTTAB.
However, it's a vast improvement on the $41 odds offered on the Raiders this time last year.
Coupled with the Raiders' march into the finals, the optimism has been generated by new signings Orford, White and Blake Ferguson.
Also the retention of the core of last year's side, with the exception of centre Joel Monaghan, has added to that feeling.
The main stumbling block is the absence of star five-eighth Campese for the first half of the season while he recovers from injury.
NSW and Penrith Panthers back-rower Luke Lewis believes the combination of wily veteran Orford and the improving Josh McCrone can adequately cover Campese while he recovers from a knee reconstruction, an injury he suffered in the finals series last year.
''I think they'll be very, very hard to beat,'' Lewis said.
''Obviously you can't fill the shoes of Terry Campese because he's a superstar.
''With the forward pack they've got there I'm sure their halves can do the job.''
For more on this story, including comments from Sharks captain Paul Gallen on this weekend's match against the Raiders, see the print edition of today's Canberra Times.
Source: Canberra Times
Topic: Raiders are contenders: Farah, Lewis
