A spot in the NRL top four beckons for Canberra this weekend, but Raiders great Mal Meninga believes the Green Machine should be aiming even higher despite an injury-ravaged 2020.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
All the hype this week has billowed around the impending return of Sonny-Bill Williams - that two-time premiership-winning, two-time Rugby World Cup-winning Rooster expected to grace us all with 20 minutes from the bench on Saturday.
But should the Raiders notch a seventh win from eight starts, they'll leapfrog the Tri-colours into fourth spot and lay down their credentials as a serious title contender.
"They're one of the genuine teams that can win the competition this year," Meninga said.
"They handle adversity really well, they haven't used it as an excuse in fact they've used it as a challenge, and it's a challenge they've consistently overcome.
"There's obviously great self belief among the group, whoever puts the jersey on, they're all going to play well."
Since losing general Josh Hodgson to a season-ending knee injury in July, Canberra has lost once - to the high-flying Penrith Panthers riding a double-digit winning run.
Recent wins over lowly Brisbane, Gold Coast and Canterbury won't have sent shockwaves through the top end of town, but it has allowed Ricky Stuart's men to rediscover their attacking flair in time for the Roosters' visit.
And it's quietly kept them under the radar.
"They've found their mojo a bit with the ball, they've made some little tweaks with the football," Meninga said.
"All of a sudden on the back of their defence and their resilience as a footy club and team, they're starting to put points on.
"They've got players to come back towards the back end of the year, good players. They're right up there."
MORE RAIDERS NEWS
Canberra's roster has settled in the last month after a tumultuous mid-season run during which Hodgson, Sia Soliola (face), Emre Guler (ankle) and Corey Horsburgh (foot).
Enforcer John Bateman returned from a lengthy shoulder layoff in the loss to Penrith last month, and Stuart was able to name the same 17 for three consecutive weeks.
That would've continued last weekend in the win over Canterbury, had Corey Harawira-Naera been permitted to play against the club he left earlier this year.
"I think it's the system that Ricky and the club have developed, all the top teams in the competition have got systems in place, standards that they set every player in their squad," Meninga said.
"They're the standards that are internal in the squad, that allows whoever plays to step up to those standards. [There is] understanding and some clarity around their roles and how they perform."
Soliola is hopeful of a return to action before finals, after suffering an horrific facial fracture eight weeks ago, but Stuart said the star prop wouldn't be rushed back into the fold despite his keenness to come back.
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
