Big, strong, unstoppable.
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Canberra centre Branko Lee is all those things and more as the Raiders make their charge towards the under-18 SG Ball premiership.
A 70-0 final-round spanking of the Central Coast has given the Raiders plenty of momentum heading into Saturday's qualifying final against the undefeated Balmain Tigers at the Windsor Sporting Complex.
The Raiders' emphatic victory, coupled with a shock loss by Penrith, rocketed the Green Machine into fourth place on the ladder and an all-important double chance in the finals.
Lee has played a pivotal role in the Raiders' impressive season, shrugging off defenders with ease and setting up teammates for tries when he was not scoring them himself. He has scored 10 tries this season.
A product of the Souths Logan club in Brisbane, the 16-year-old is a cousin of Toyota Cup star Edrick Lee and has another year left in the SG Ball competition. Lee has been hampered by a groin injury for the past couple weeks but Raiders coach Peter Marrapodi said he would be ready to be unleashed in the finals.
''I don't like to get ahead of ourselves, the kid's only 16, but he's got great size and reach,'' Marrapodi said. ''One on one they can't handle him, he's just too good.
''If we know there's a weak defender we'll try and get him one on one and they've got no chance of getting a hand on him.
''He's still just finding a bit of fitness and form from a groin injury, so he hasn't been as heavily involved in the last couple weeks so playing more of a team structure more than a give-to-Branko type game.
''He's one of those strike weapons.
''You can't starve him of the ball, he's got to be involved in the play.''
The Tigers don't appear to have any weaknesses on their way to winning the minor premiership with nine straight victories.
The Raiders didn't face the Tigers in the regular season, and that surprise factor could work in their favour if their attack can replicate the feats of last weekend.
Against an opposition with nothing to play for, the Raiders ran riot to leapfrog the Panthers into fourth place on points differential.
''It's a bonus for us to finish in the top four,'' Marrapodi said.
''We blew them out of the water in the first 10 minutes and they didn't respond.
''Our attack was on song, there was lots of support and some really classy tries.''
Marrapodi believed his side could stage a serious tilt at the SG Ball title.
''We're good enough to win it,'' he said.
''We've got a really talented side across the board with a lot of strike power.
''As it is with 18-year-olds, we've got to win the mental battle first.''
The Raiders under-16 team completed its disappointing Harold Matthews Cup campaign with a 32-24 loss to the Central Coast. The Raiders ended with the season with one win, seven losses and a draw to finish 15th on the table.
