Canberra Raiders steeled to honour Allan Hawke against Wests Tigers at Leichhardt

It's why it will be about more than just earning a spot in the NRL finals on Sunday. It'll be about honouring their chairman Allan Hawke.

A chairman who was much more than that - he was a friend, a mentor, a leader, a Raiders fan.

The nurses helped him into his Raiders jersey to watch them thrash Manly last weekend. And you can picture him still wearing it, looking down as the Green Machine prepared to run out against the Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval.

Hawke's long battle with cancer ended on Wednesday night, ending 20 years of service to his beloved team. A team that's only 40 years old itself.

He joined the board in 2002 before taking over from John McIntyre as chairman in 2014.

Since then he's been tirelessly working behind the scenes, with his final piece of business extending Raiders coach Ricky Stuart's contract until the end of 2025.

Stuart spoke to his players on Thursday morning about the importance of honouring Hawke. It added another dimension of importance to an already important game - the Raiders potentially needing to win to ensure their spot in the top eight.

"This is a very special weekend for a gentleman, for Allan," Stuart said.

"While he's been in hospital his best part of the week has been when Maria and his daughter Steph and son-in-law would come to the hospital and take him home to watch the game.

"We'll definitely be there this weekend playing for Allan ... and the rest of the season will be all about what we can do for Allan."

Stuart spent a morning with Hawke and his wife Maria during his recent week off. It was a golden lining to his week's suspension.

It showed the Raiders coach just how unfair it was for anyone to have to suffer cancer.

But it also highlighted Hawke's mental toughness and ability to handle the pain.

Family, including his Raiders family, had helped keep him going. Extending a "wonderful life" Stuart said should be celebrated for all it achieved.

Hawke climbed to the highest ranks of the public service and then proceeded to do the same at the Raiders.

"He was more than just the chairman of the football club, he was a great friend to so many, a mentor to a number of us and a person who loved the club," Stuart said.

"That's what makes this club so special having those types of people as our leaders. He led by great example.

"It wasn't just football with Allan it was whole of club. He was part of the Raider family.

"He took great interest in our football, in our leaders, he plays a great role in our welfare department - I know he meets with our welfare managers consistently - it's the example of a person who has a passion for the whole of the club.

"His experience throughout many, many years of being such a decorated public servant, a decorated sportsperson himself, his mentoring and advice came from great qualities as a human being."

Raiders chief executive Don Furner said Hawke's appointment to the board came at a crucial time, in the wake of the Super League war.

His stability and experience were invaluable during those years as Australian rugby league reunited.

Hawke's advice could always be relied on because he was there "for the right reasons". Something Furner said wasn't always the case in NRL clubland.

He was happy working in the background and didn't crave the limelight. Only coming forward when he felt it was needed.

And, despite the cancer taking its toll towards the end, he was always in contact with his chief executive making sure everything that needed to was getting done. Whether it was Stuart's contract or the next steps for their NRLW team, which will join the competition next year.

"It can be a thankless job being a chairman ... you're doing it for the love of it. He loved the Raiders," Furner said.

"His wife and daughter told me the other day he got really happy when the nurses put him in his Raiders jumper.

"He wanted the Raiders jumper on sitting in bed watching us beat Manly and the previous week against St George. That was the highlight of the day.

"It was a tough couple of weeks the last couple of weeks for Allan and his family, particularly his wife Maria and daughter Stephanie.

"But that's what he looked forward to - being in his jersey and watching the footy. That's really nice to hear."

Canberra's monuments were lit up in green and gold for National Wattle Day, but fellow Raiders director Terry Weber liked to think the green was for Hawke, who brought him onto the Green Machine board nine years ago.

Weber organised a dinner with the Raiders leadership group at the start of the season, where Hawke and Dennis Richardson imparted their extensive knowledge on leading.

"I think the biggest impact has been culture and the Raiders culture. The club's bigger than the individual," Weber said.

"So when tough decisions had to be made about, let's say players, where it might've been easier to say, 'We need that player because he's a good player', it was culture above that. To me that's massive.

"The Raiders have got everything to play for now."

NRL ROUND 25

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval, 4pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Xavier Savage, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Matt Timoko, 4. Sebastian Kris, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Zac Woolford, 10. Joe Tapine, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead (c), 13. Adam Elliott. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Corey Horsburgh, 17. Corey Harawira-Naera. Reserves: 18. Albert Hopoate, 19. Ata Mariota, 20. Matt Frawley, 21. Peter Hola, 22. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.

Tigers squad: 1. Daine Laurie, 2. Brent Naden, 3. Starford To'a, 4. Luke Garner, 5. Ken Maumalo, 6. Adam Doueihi, 7. Jock Madden, 8. James Tamou, 9. Jake Simpkin, 10. Joe Ofahengaue, 11. Thomas Freebairn, 12. Kelma Tuilagi, 13. Fa'amanu Brown. Interchange: 14. Fonua Pole, 15. Zane Musgrove, 16. Tyrone Peachey, 17. Austin Dias. Reserves: 18. Jacob Liddle, 19. Junior Pauga, 20. James Roberts, 21. Henry O'Kane, 22. Brandon Mansfield.

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