Sunday’s overtime epic in Canberra was an all-time fable-maker that left footy fans up and down the East Coast reaching for the O2 and the Winnie Blue.
Except for Raiders fans, of course, who are now marooned in another existential crisis after the Broncos left their season of destiny saturated in briney stress sweat.
How do Ricky Stuart’s minor premiers peel themselves off the canvas for the long detour to the grand final, especially after already playing the equivalent of three finals in one day?
As we know, Canberra has always been a “development club” – ie you support them if you want to develop ulcers.
But while fans of The Milk are no strangers to having their hearts cruelly julienned, the nature of Sunday’s cinematic defeat went far beyond an iconic Jason Bulgarelli spill or Jarrod Croker penalty miss.
For a side that has dominated 2025 while carrying the weight of their own history, the Raiders will be cramping in the fetal pose after somehow going the full 94 and still losing – and that’s why radical means are required for the Sharks clash.
Here are the five new tactics Stuart must implement to ensure this Sad Sunday isn’t immediately followed by Mad Monday.
1. Don’t abandon the game plan
Critics blame Canberra’s fade-out on shutting up shop too early, although you could argue Reece Walsh playing like his hair was on fire might’ve also contributed.
Nevertheless, it’s a pertinent reminder to the Raiders to stick to their strengths; plenty of offloads, plenty of second-phase, and preferably no tries requiring a clutch conversion from Jamal Fogarty.
2. Don’t pressure the kicker
Following the Zac Hosking incident, under no circumstances are the Raiders to ever attack a kicker’s leg again.
Unless of course they are doing so in a legal manner, ie with the forehead.
Hudson Young. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
3. Don’t smile
The Hudson Young sin-bin has set a new precedent- the Raiders can no longer afford to display human emotion.
This means no excitement when forcing a turnover, no smiling to check your front teeth after riling Walsh, and certainly no laughing.
Admittedly the latter will be a challenge in the face of Ashley Klein’s comical refereeing – but we don’t make the rules (and if we did, he wouldn’t understand them anyway).
4. Don’t ask for anything
Demanding a preferred kickoff time is the stuff of greedy Sydney heavyweights like the Roosters and Channel Nine, not the agreeable Raiders – and it’s come back to bite them.
Requesting the Sunday fixture due to a wicked turnaround time was not only totally off-brand for the humble regional club, it’s left Stuart’s men a paltry six days to piece themselves back together following 94 minutes in the mincer.
Even though a shorter break to the Sharks match means less nights waking in a cold sweat about a toilet-sipping demon, the Raiders need to accept this as a sign:
Never ask for anything ever again, whether it’s better kickoff times for player welfare, better refereeing for fan welfare or even just a worse bus bay in the Bronx for the visitors.
5. Don’t build comfortable leads
Aussies know there’s plenty of notoriously dangerous leads in sports:
There’s 2-0 against Iran at the MCG, six strokes in the final round of the Masters, or alternatively, a four man lead on the final corner of a speed skating final to a blonde bloke who looks like he’s lost looking for the beach.
But for sheer terror and endless possibilities, nothing beats a lead held by the Raiders.
The Green Machine has always loved frittering away a comfortable buffer, and this year has been no different with the side caught playing with its food on numerous occasions.
But after getting away with it all season, blowing a 28-12 advantage in a qualifying final manifested their fans worst fears that the side would definitely do a ‘Raider’ at the worst possible time if they didn’t clear the pipes by ‘re-Raidering’ earlier to be fully ‘de-Raidered’ before finals.
Now it’s come back to haunt them and they’ve ’Raiders’ all over themselves on the biggest stage, Stuart must avoid all risk by instructing his side to cease establishing leads immediately.
Yes, finding a way to win a game without being ahead of your opponent will demand some unprecedented levels of game management and the outlandish bending of calculus, but any coach that can win the one game three times and still lose is a better chance than most.
Dane Eldridgehttps://www.theroar.com.au/2025/09/18/canberras-five-lessons-from-sad-sunday-that-can-prevent-an-early-mad-monday/Canberra’s five lessons from Sad Sunday that can prevent an early Mad Monday
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