Rival Canberra Raiders Cup clubs back Queanbeyan Blues to rebound

The region was rocked on Friday when the 95-year-old club that helped launched the Canberra Raiders forfeited Saturday's clash with Belconnen United.

Blues coach Simon Woolford backed the club to recover and West Belconnen captain-coach Ryan McQueen said the first grade competition is recovering from the impacts of COVID.

"It was struggling a bit there after COVID," McQueen said. "Some clubs are still struggling a bit but it's rugby league. It's going to keep fighting through, so it'll be alright."

McQueen's comments came after his side scored late to secure a tense 22-all draw with Tuggeranong on Sunday afternoon.

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While the Queanbeyan Kangaroos sit well clear on the ladder, the Warriors and Bushrangers sit amid a five-team logjam in the battle for a place in the finals.

Tuggeranong captain Darby Medlyn said the tight nature of the competition is a sign the Canberra Raiders Cup is in good health.

"It's really close," Medlyn said. "There's no easy beats in this competition. Every game of every round is really tight so you've got to be on your game every week.

"The quality of the competition is good. There's a bit going on at the Blues but we'll just focus on us and keep building throughout the year. We'll be looking good for finals time, we've just got to keep putting in good performances."

The Warriors defeated the Blues in last year's grand final and McQueen acknowledged a finals berth is no guarantee this season.

Currently sitting sixth and with a handful of key players still to return in the coming weeks, the fullback is confident West Belconnen will be in the mix in September.

"It's going to be a really tough battle for those bottom three spots [in the top four]," McQueen said.

"We've still got a couple of blokes to come back from injury and a couple of blokes playing up at Raiders. Hopefully we're lucky enough to get a few players back.

"Whoever rocks up on the day can win this comp, so we've got to make the top four first."

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