NICK KYRGIOS' breakthrough victory at the French Open during the week not only shot the Canberra prodigy to national attention, it also made life easier for one of his earliest victims. Kyrgios was only 10 when he showed the first glimpses of his massive forehand and booming serve in beating Chinthaka Wickramaratna, who was 25 at the time in a third-grade pennants match. Chinthaka, or Chin to his mates, recalled his memorable moment after Kyrgios upset Czech veteran Radek Stepanek in the opening round of the French Open. ''My brother doesn't let me forget it,'' Wickramaratna laughed. ''Even then he was the best ball striker I've ever seen. I definitely gave him the motivation to push on.''

HE'S been getting strange looks all week and is worried about frost-bite on his head, but Wests second-rower Matt ''Bubba'' Ryan says shaving off six years worth of dreadlocks was worth it to raise money for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance last weekend. On the plus side his hair wasn't yanked by opposition players at the bottom of a ruck in Wests' clash with Queanbeyan on Saturday. Ryan raised almost $4500 for the Alliance. ''I guess they started getting a bit too long so I said something about it and then all of a sudden I was cutting them off,'' Ryan said. A carpenter by trade, Ryan said: ''I didn't have to cut them off for work, but I didn't want them to get caught in a saw. Now my beanies don't even fit me because they've all been stretched by the dreads.''

CANBERRA Raiders supporters are jumping on the Green Machine wagon early this year and they're trying to re-launch the ''Raiders Army'' after disbanding in 2011. The supporters' group decided it was time to wind up two years ago after 10 seasons following the Raiders and their rollercoaster NRL fortunes. But now they're back. They've started a Twitter account with the description, ''Raiders Army Version 2.0'' and they want to organise fans to go on away trips with the team. If enough interest is shown, the group will organise bus trips to Sydney and T-shirt designs are being voted on. The Army was at its peak in 2010 when it swarmed on to the hill at Penrith for a semi-final and the fence collapsed under the power of support as they celebrated victory.

BEFORE he was called up for a NSW State of Origin debut, Raiders star Blake Ferguson was given a crash course in nutrition. Ferguson and housemate Jack Wighton were spotted at a Gungahlin supermarket getting lessons in the type of foods they should buy, checking such things as nutritional value and cost. The funny thing is, after walking out of the checkout, Ferguson was seen indulging his sweet tooth at Donut King. Given he's been playing the house down and has earned a Blues jersey, we can't complain too much about the powerful outside back's eating habits.

RAIDERS coach David Furner has confirmed the club is in talks with former Gold Coast sensation Jordan Rapana and a deal could be done this week. Rapana was in Canberra trying to land a contract with the ACT Brumbies. It's understood the Brumbies were impressed with Rapana's willingness to play club rugby and work at cafes and pubs while trying to impress the coaches.

But they weren't happy when he jumped at a chance to link with the Green Machine. Rapana is the likely replacement for Sandor Earl, who is moving to French rugby. Earl and his management declined to comment on the deal reportedly worth $220,000. Bizarre given Earl retweeted an article about the move from his Twitter account.

WE'RE only a couple months into the Group 8 rugby league season, but already the West Belconnen Warriors have put out the call for a captain/coach for next season. The club will also consider a non-playing coach as it looks to find the right candidate for a two-year deal for 2014-15. The Warriors have struggled in the Canberra Raiders Cup this season under coach Alan Jones and are keen to return to the top of the competition. The head coach would be responsible for all three grades within the club, under 18s, reserve grade and first grade. Anyone interested can contact: tepearcey@hotmail.com. Applications close on June 28.