Thanks for joining me tonight. I’ll leave you with an email I received from Ally in the UK:
“Hi Sam,
My husband has been trying to make me support the Raiders for ten years – is now the time to jump on board the green machine?
Yours sincerely,
Married to a Viking
Ally”
Ally, in a word, yes.
Match report here:
Enjoy your rugby League.
Full Time: Raiders 16-10 Rabbitohs
Take a breath, what a game. Men and women of the Green Machine movement: you made it.
This was a pulsating preliminary final, where - in the end - the superior team managed to take the spoils. The win was largely forged off the back of two star performances. It wouldn’t be fair to say Joshes Papalii and Hodgson single-handedly drove the Raiders to the grand final, but you wouldn’t be far off. Between Hodgson setting up the first try, saving another, before Papalii again and again rescued Canberra from territorial trouble before scoring the winner in brutal fashion - these two were the heart and soul of a performance that will live long in the memory.
Souths were a willing foe, whose resilience and knowhow nearly saw them steal the march on the home side. Cody Walker was threatening, so too were Damien Cook and Adam Doueihi, but ultimately the Raiders’ superior physicality showed, as they ran over the Bunnies, even with Nicol-Klokstad binned with 10 to go.
It means the Green Machine travel the the grand final for the first time in 25 years. They were incredibly supported at home tonight, and one wouldn’t put it past them to bring another level next week.
Updated
80 min: Chip over the top from Walker...Raiders fall on it. The Canberra Raiders are through to the Grand Final! GIO/Bruce/Canberra Stadium erupts! Fireworks everywhere, Jarrod Croker sprints away. A great preliminary final returns a great grand finalist.
Some on-field reaction (if I can grab any) before some thoughts to follow.
Try: Raiders 16-10 Rabbitohs
The Bunnies keep it alive, swing it left, and score! It’s a little late. Reynolds misses the conversion. Time off...13 seconds to go
76 min: Croker makes a break and goes 40 metres! Crowd rapturous. He can’t go all the way though. The Raiders play out the set, and run down the clock. Later on, the ball is desperately chipped over the top by Souths, it bobbles everywhere, and Cummins somehow adjudicates a Raiders feed. The Green Machine are going to do it.
75 mins: Short kick-off, big contest, and the Rabbitohs get a penalty from it! They get re-started quickly, but soon come unstuck and drop the ball!
Conversion: Raiders 16-6 Rabbitohs
Croker makes no mistake from in front. 5:19 on the clock, Raiders up by 10.
Try: Raiders 14-6 Rabbitohs
PAPALII! What a barnstorming run! He gets the ball back on the inside from Sezer centre-field and beats one, two, three, four, and crashes over under the posts! He’s swamped by his team-mates, and so he should be. That was memorable. The Raiders are up by 8, kick to come.
71 min: Canberra hold on after a terrible last option play - it’s all helter skelter here. Later on Croker has the ball dislodged but there’s no six-again? Last tackle , much slower from Canberra now, Sezer sends it up but Corey Allan takes it. The Bunnies then cough it up at the play the ball! It’s Doueihi, who’s otherwise been great. Papalii punches the air. The Raiders have the ball 20 metres out, six tackles in hand. Can they ice this?
69 min: Last play Bunnies, and it’s intercepted by Reynolds! He races 60 metres before Nicol-Klokstad runs him down. CNK then strips the ball and he’s penalised and sent to the bin for 10 mins! Huge! Correct call, to be fair. Souths have a huge shot here.
67 min: The Raiders hang on! They’ve got the ball again. Is there anything in the tank? Who will get them out of trouble? Papalii manages an off-load and there’s now six to go!
65 min: And another repeat set for Souths! As Fatty says, “They don’t look like getting through,” but they keep getting the ball. How long can the Raiders hold on? Meanwhile Leilua goes from the field with an ankle injury - he’s unlikely to return. Wighton attemps a short dropout - it’s horrible - it travels 20 metres and no one’s there to contest it!
64 min: Could be a huge play here. The Raiders looked to have weathered another Souths raid, but as Cotric fell onto a ball in the field of play, laying prone, Walker dragged him back into the in-goal, and there’s now a goal-line dropout.
62 min: Solid set from the Raiders. Great kick from Hodgson that finds space. Papalii about to come back on. At the Souths end, Adam Doueihi has passed his HIA and will return.
60 min: Soliolo strips it from Cook! What a play! Defuses a huge amount of pressure! Now the Raiders get to breathe.
59 min: Wighton’s drop out goes out on the full!
Penalty in front of the sticks. Souths take the tap...
58 min: And another set for Souths, who keep the pressure on. This time, Reynolds grubbers it in with his left foot, Croker snares it but he can’t beat the on-rushing defence. Pressure builds.
56 min: A disjointed set of six for Souths, but ultimately Sutton dribbles it in-goal, Rapana gathers, and it’ll be another set of six for Souths.
54 min: Sloppy play the ball from BJ Leilua 40m from his own line, and Souths get the ball. You fancy them here, too, after all their resilience so far.
52 mins: A stray ball is picked up by Croker and he’s taken high by Burgess, meaning immediate penalty. Is Burgess injured after that? He’s holding his pec (or shoulder) and is coming off. From the penalty, the Raiders go close with a crash ball on the left from Sezer to Whitehead but he spills it. The Bunnies repel them again.
50 min: Further fallout from the Papalii shot is that Doueihi is off for an HIA, Johnston going to fullback. They’ve got great field position following the penalty, but Croker smothers Lowe on the last with a wonderful tackle. Raiders ball. And again, Papalii with another huge run!
49 min: More excellent defence from Souths, they repel the Raiders again. If they win tonight, it will be on the back of this stuff. Doueihi comes away with it and wow, he’s hit hard by Papalii. Shoulder charge? Souths players think so. Papalii is called out by Cummins, and he’s on report. Commentators unanimous he’s not got much to worry about, I’m not so sure.
48 min: Now Reynolds kicks out on the full! Rabbitohs under the pump. The Raiders need to capitalise. Can Souths hang on?
47 min: Raiders have all the momentum and they generate another opportunity here. A stray bomb gets a tough bounce, the Raiders come up with it, they shift the ball right but then Walker executes a try saver on Sezer. A season saver?
Try: Raiders 10-6 Rabbitohs
Great bit of improvisation from Wighton, and he puts his team ahead. Can Croker convert from the sideline? He can’t, it hits the post!
Updated
44 min: Possible try Canberra! Ball goes up in the air, CNK knocks it back after a contest with Doueihi, it falls to Wighton, who then loses it, but kicks it before the ball hits the ground. There are now fifteen replays of exactly this - presumably as the referees open the rule book on this. Sterlo thinks “he’s improvised”. No doubt Wighton loses control, but does the kicking of the ball pre-ground negate the knock on? It does! TRY!
43 min: We’re set for set. No errors. Good kicks. Who blinks first? Walker then takes it to the line and puts Gagai through a half-gap. He’s warming into this match nicely. Eventually Sezer returns with the ball, before a hold up as Campbell Graham has a badly split nose that needs tending to.
41 min: Shaky first set from the Raiders before Papalii surges 19 metres, allowing Hodgson to get a kick away, and render the set passable. The Rabbitohs’ turn now...
Back out for the second half
Promises to be a nail-biter, this. The Freddie Mercury vocal range is getting a workover, and the crowd is up to the task.
Halftime Summary
The Raiders started very physically, and appeared to be grinding the Bunnies into submission. They’ve been inspirationally led by captain Josh Hodgson, who set up the Green Machine’s only try, and has been a menace in both defence and attack.
Despite a sluggish start, the Bunnies came into their own after the Raiders’ try, first establishing a firmer foundation in the middle, before Cook and Walker started enjoying some space down their left edge. Their try came after some sustained pressure - and a scrum play saw Gagai find enough space to crash over.
In reality, while the Raiders have probably shaded the Rabbitohs, the visiting team could well be ahead. Late in the piece, Cook sent Tatola over, only for Papalii and Bateman to save the day. Earlier, Hodgson prevented a near-certain four-pointer to Walker via another strip too.
Huge amounts of desperation, intensity, and resilience here tonight. The Raiders look willing, but the Bunnies are staying with them.
Another 40 to go...
Halftime: Raiders 6-6 Rabbitohs
Breathtaking stuff ... will regain it, and summarise accordingly.
35 min: Wighton stabs the ball deep but Doueihi picks it up off his bootlaces, beats a man, and sprints 30 metres before Nicoll-Klokstad brings him down. The ball heads down the other end before Wighton pounces on a loose kick and sprints 50 metres before Gagai roped him in. An error follows, and everyone gets a breath. Honours evening up here as we head toward half-time.
33 min: Try Souths? After bouncing side-to-side for the entire set of six, Damien Cook finds a quick play-the-ball and sends Tatola (seemingly) over. But Cummins wants a look, soft-signals No Try, and so it proves. Papalii and Bateman with the tackles. Desperate stuff.
31 min: Both sides trade strong sets of six with good kicks, and it appears the Bunnies have a second wind. Bateman then attempts a strip, but is ruled to have knocked on. Risky business. Souths have the ball on halfway, five tackles in hand.
Conversion: Raiders 6-6 Rabbitohs
Beautifully struck from Reynolds. On the wrong side for a right-footer, near the sideline, he pierces the sticks.
Try: Raiders 6-4 Rabbitohs
Another scrum play, and this looked all too easy. A sweeping movement left-to-right, many decoys, before Reynolds found Gagai who split Croker and Cotric, and slid over. Raiders defence appeared to hold off, no doubt due to the multitudes of aforementioned decoys. It will be Reynolds trying to convert from the sideline.
26 min: Just as Souths look to have weathered the storm, Bateman spills a kick driven into him. A tough take, to be fair. Souths get another set.
25 min: Hodgson with a try-saving strip! Bunnies enact the scrum-play, they go left, and create the overlap. Cody Walker looks like he’s going to bump past Hodgson to score, and Hodgson strips it off him! Walker loses it over the line, the ball goes dead, and Canberra survive! Goal-line drop-out Raiders.
24 min: Mistake Canberra! New entrant Lui spills his first touch! Great field position for Souths.
21 min: More pressure on Souths. Canberra work the ball back into an attacking position, then hoist one to the corner. Souths eventually regain possession, and conjure a settling set of six that restores some territory for them. They’re hanging on here - they’re getting significantly outmuscled.
19 min: Penalty Canberra
The Raiders have added venom after their try, and have Souths back-pedalling in defence. Eventually it takes a toll, as Souths hold the Raiders player down too long. 30m out, 10m in from touch, and Croker will have a shot. He misses!
Updated
Conversion: Raiders 6-0 Rabbitohs
20m out, 15m in from touch, Croker makes so mistake.
Try: Raiders 4-0 Rabbitohs
And the Raiders are on the board through that man Hodgson, who minutes earlier appeared to have succumbed to an HIA. He may well still do. Until then, he’s the most influential player on the field.
Possible Try!
Incredible stuff. That man Hodgson. He grubbers the ball into the in-goal. Corey Allan grabs it for Souths, and is trying to get into the field of play. But then Hodgson tackles the ball loose, before Croker gets it down. They go to the bunker...
13 min: They’re saying Hodgson’s okay - though that seems tough to believe. This set of six also comes to zero, before Wighton stabs dead. Disappointing. But then, Hodgson gets a one-on-one steal!
11 min: Looks like Hodgson might be in HIA trouble...more on that shortly. After some confusion, Leilua takes the ball - is tackled - the ref says play on - he plays the ball - the ref then says ‘last’, so Leilua grubbers through, before Tapine crashes into the receiving Doueihi and he loses the ball! More field position for the Raiders. We’ll keep an eye on Hodgson...
9 min: No dice! A bit of an arhythmic set for the Raiders - passes behind players, and the Rabbitohs held firm. The Bunnies come away with it.
7 min: Papalii gets a quick play the ball which allows a strong Hodgson kick on the last, and Croker et al drive Souths into their corner. A few tackles later and bang! Burgess is hammered and drops it! Huge play. Solioli involved. Raiders will get a good look here...
NO TRY
“The arm carrying the ball contacts the ground...” says the bunker man. It’s a changeover to the Raiders. Sterlo meanwhile is explaining that the Rabbitohs have bombed this - squandering an easy 2-on-1 after Leilua had attempted an intercept. The Raiders come away with it.
5 min: HUGE dropout from Wighton, goes 60 metres! Later on the Bunnies cross the line in the corner, but it looks like it’s been passed from the ground. Ben Cummins is going to have a look at it though. “You can’t do that,” says Sterlo.
4 min: Bunnies go side-to-side, but the Raiders hold firm. Reynolds puts one up across the posts on the last, and after a bit of a messy bounce, the Raiders take it dead. Another set of six for them to defend...
Updated
2 min: Penalty - Leilua takes Doueihi high deep in Souths territory, and a reliving penalty to Souths. They then execute a solid set of six before Reynolds chips a beautiful ball into the Raiders’ in-goal, and Cotric is pinned. “Shows what ill-discipline can do,” says Sterlo, referring to Leilua’s high tackle.
Canberra kick-off, and we’re away. Burgess takes the first hit-up, and later in the set a ball’s left behind the line. A strong defensive set from the Raiders before Reynolds hoists a huge torpedo downfield to restore the metreage. Raiders will get the ball in favourable field position though.
Dean Lance - hero from the ‘89 GF - marshals the Viking clap!
The Raiders are out there. It’s completely packed - the ground sold out in six minutes. It looks a picture. Probably doesn’t feel it - apparently the temperature’s heading down to single digits.
Players are on their way
It’s the Bunnies first. You can never really hear the boo’s, but I’ve no doubt they exist. Just on the myrtle and green - Ethan Lowe comes into the starting line-up, Tom Burgess drops to the bench. Tom’s brother, George, misses the squad - as D Weidler foretold.
Souths line-up 1-17
1. Adam Doueihi
2. Alex Johnston
4. Dane Gagai
5. Campbell Graham
19. Corey Allan
6. Cody Walker
7. Adam Reynolds
10. Liam Knight
9. Damien Cook
12. Sam Burgess
11. John Sutton
16. Ethan Lowe
13. Cameron Murray
Interchange:
8. Thomas Burgess
15. Junior Tatola
17. Mark Nicholls
20. Dean Britt
Raiders line-up 1-17
1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
2. Nick Cotric
3. Jarrod Croker (C)
4. Joey Leilua
5. Jordan Rapana
6. Jack Wighton
7. Aidan Sezer
8. Josh Papalii
9. Josh Hodgson (C)
10. Sia Soliola
11. John Bateman
12. Elliott Whitehead
13. Joe Tapine
Interchange:
14. Bailey Simonsson
15. Emre Guler
16. Corey Horsburgh
17. Dunamis Lui
The Raiders took to the field earlier for a warm-up. Hell of a response from the home crowd.
Listen to that noise! 🗣😮#WeAreRaiders #WEARECBR #NRLFinals pic.twitter.com/44PKCbrCqt
— Canberra Raiders (@RaidersCanberra) September 27, 2019
Bone Cone speaks for most of the Internet, I’d venture
My thoughts are with Raiders fans (and Raiders twitter) tonight.
— bone c0ne (@bonec0ne) September 27, 2019
Light trolling from the Bunnies on Twitter
In a week where we’ve seen the humble meme show the ability to engender mass support for sporting outfits, here is Souths’ sacrilegious take on the solemn Viking Clap.
The Viking Clap 👏 in all it’s glory...#GoRabbitohs #NRLFinals #NRLRaidersSouths pic.twitter.com/O4cBP9QW1p
— South Sydney Rabbitohs 🐰 (@SSFCRABBITOHS) September 27, 2019
News from the Folau orbit
The international governing body has voted to suspend the Tongan National Rugby League’s membership, though Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter Beattie denies it’s got anything to do with Israel Folau’s mooted comeback.
An AAP piece here details more:
Wayne Bennett’s in typically charming form tonight
Awwwwwwkward. 😳
— NRL on Nine (@NRLonNine) September 27, 2019
Watch: @Channel9#NRLRaidersSouths #NRL #9WWOS #NRLFinals pic.twitter.com/m0FyO6hQyq
More pics from a brisk, yet clear Canberra evening.
The calm before the Viking storm
There’s no doubt English Rugby League is on the rise, as evidenced by the huge number of their players taking part in tonight’s fixtures. Excellent piece here from John Davidson well worth your time, as we count down to kick off:
Souths have won the toss and will kick off
This realistically means very little. Captain Hodgson says “the boys are very relaxed,” and we learn little more.
Incidentally, after some umm-ing and ahh-ing, Burgess opted to run “left-to-right”.
Preamble
The greatest of evenings to all rugby league folk and otherwise.
Can you feel the anticipation in the Canberra air? GIO Stadium is home to preliminary final No 1 tonight, and after 80 (possibly 90) minutes of rugby league, we’re going to have a (relatively) unexpected grand final berth for one club.
Tonight: where to begin? While the Rabbitohs arguably played the more scintillating football at the season’s commencement, it’s the Raiders who have looked the more imposing unit from winter onwards. There’s a sense of something special in the air for Ricky Stuart’s men, who enter tonight with a fresh, stable squad, at home, against an inconsistent Rabbitohs outfit who many believe are running on empty.
But how do you write off a side with Sam Burgess, Damien Cook, Cameron Murray, and a host of other Origin and International players? You don’t. Moreover, they’re coached by Wayne Bennett. The Bunnies haven’t been at their best for a little while, but there’s a wealth of winning DNA in this side – and they’ll smell an incredible opportunity to snare a grand final berth against a club who’ve lost their last three preliminary finals.
Canberra have earned the right to favouritism – and just about everything points their way. But this is rugby league, and we’ve seen plenty of boil-overs at this point in the season. If there’s one in the offing here, let’s just hope it’s not whistle-led.
The Raiders faithful are right to be nervous tonight, though this author thinks the Green Machine will prevail. Your thoughts are exceptionally welcome too – hit me at @sjjperry on Twitter, or sam.perry.freelance@guardian.com via email.
Bit of colour, fanfare, both-barrelled opinion, online warfare to follow before kick-off at 7.50AEST (7.58pm at a guess).
Both sides enter the fixture unchanged from latest reports, though Rugby League’s perennial man on the ground, Danny Weidler, is saying he’s received a tip that George Burgess will not play. Not sure who that favours more, frankly.
Updated
