It was a must win game for both teams in Canberra today. As I wrote ion my NRL Tips on the Sports Freak website, I felt as though one of either Canberra or Penrith would make the finals, but I didn’t think both of them would.
Canberra has been in great form the last few months while Penrith has also shown it can play some pretty good football.
The forcast in Canberra was for sleet or even snow, so I dont have to mention how cold it was.
With all of the reasons to turn up to see the game, it was bitterly dissapointing to see just 6,00 turn up to watch the Raiders thrash Penrith 74-12.
The Raiders are playing great, exciting football and have become a threat right across the park. They deserve to be playing in front of much bigger crowds than that.
In all the talk about Sydney clubs needing to re-locate and sponsors being hard to come by, a small market team like the Raiders needs all the support it can get, otherwise it could find itself being the first club moved.
No one wants to see that happen. While Canberra may nopt tick all the boxes of men in suits at the NRL, they play an important role in giving the NRL a foothold southern New South Wales.
Canberra was once an AFL strong hold until the Raiders arrived in 1982. The area quickly switched to Rugby League and and never looked back.
The Raiders are in a very similar position to the Newcastle Knights. Both are small market teams, they both have nice stadiums, they have both enjoyed success in the past and both and rebuilding themselves after a lot of great players have retired.
The difference is, Newcastle gets close on 20,000 to every single home game, while the Raiders are happy to break the 10,000 mark.
Already this season the club has had to come out and squash rumours they were looking to relocate to South East Queensland. There is no doubt that if the club moved to Queensland, it would become a force to be reckoned with on and off the field once again.
As I said, no one wants to see that happen. I want to see the Raiders remain in the national capital. The fans down there need to support the club though because no club can survive on crowds like that.
