Huge article in the Telegraph today regarding the Raiders' "mistake" of not going into the player market this season:
Time to Raid the market
By Barry Toohey
July 23, 2004
DON'T put it down to smugness or cockiness. You wouldn't even call it over-confidence.
It is more an error in judgment, a decision possibly clouded by the smell of success.
Canberra did not buy one new player for this season. They probably figured they didn't need to.
It was thought the same players who unexpectedly took the Raiders to within two wins of a grand final in 2003 could raise the bar a little higher in 2004.
Unfortunately for coach Matthew Elliott and his squad, it hasn't happened.
"It was probably a mistake," Raiders assistant coach Terry Matterson says of the decision not to go into the marketplace.
"You always like to bring new people in. We recognise now the need to bring some players in every year."
Captain Simon Woolford agrees.
"Looking back, the club probably regrets not signing anyone," he says.
"I think we were the only club who didn't buy anyone.
"The problem was I don't know that there was anyone really on the market in the positions we were looking at."
There is an old saying: Stand still and run the risk of being trampled over.
The Raiders haven't been trampled. But in a season of ups and downs for the club, they have watched as other sides have whizzed passed them.
Insiders say the killer instinct evident in 2003 has been missing.
Tight games the Raiders won last season have fallen the other way. Two games really stand out.
Against Auckland and Melbourne, Canberra led both by eight points with 10 minutes remaining. They were run down in both games.
Those sort of results erode confidence and can hurt more than a blowout loss like the one to Penrith last Saturday night.
To make matters worse, the Raiders have been hammered off the field by a player market with plenty of heat in it.
In a couple of weeks, Canberra lost Ruben Wiki to the Warriors, Luke Davico to England and Joel Monaghan to the Roosters.
It prompted the captain to publicly question what was happening at the club.
"He was fairly outspoken and critical of the administration," Matterson says.
"It was a tough period for everyone but the club has spoken to him and the players since and explained the situation.
"I think Simon understands it a lot better now and is more comfortable with it."
Woolford says he is over it.
"I expressed my disappointment with how I thought it was all handled, but you move on," he says.
"There were contributing factors in all three of them leaving.
"In Rubin's case, the Warriors offered him twice as much as we could.
"And Joel? Well, I spoke to him a number of times trying to convince him to stay.
"But I think he was getting advice from various people to leave and obviously he feels he is going to be better off at the Roosters."
Davico's situation is more complex and the club more culpable.
He was under contract for next season and had no real intention of leaving.
But in what he labels a "disappointing misunderstanding", the club falsely believed he was seeking a release.
"The story grew out of somewhere and all of a sudden I had player managers ringing me with offers when I had no real intention of going anywhere," he says.
"At that stage, I wanted to finish my career with the club and I was pretty upset by it all.
"If the club had have come to me when it first surfaced, it would have all been knocked on the head there and then and the drama wouldn't have happened."
It was only after Davico was contacted by Wigan boss Maurice Lindsay that he started to consider a new offer, which he finally accepted.
"Losing Rubin and Joel on top of me going probably hurt us on the field when it was all happening, but we have got through it and moved on," Davico says.
"It is now up to us to finish the season the way we should."
There has been one significant new signing for next season in former Parramatta playmaker Jason Smith, who is returning from England.
And the cashed-up Raiders are on the lookout for more, particularly outside backs.
Smith's signing is recognition that halfback Mark McLinden has been carrying too much of the creative burden, along with Woolford.
Brad Drew took some of the focus off McLinden last season but his impact has been minimal in 2004 and he is leaving at season's end.
Woolford says the Raiders now need to focus on what can still be achieved this season.
They are on 20 points and in seventh spot. But the battle for places in the bottom half of the eight is intense. A couple of slip-ups could see them tumble out of contention.
"The next few weeks are vital," Woolford says. "Four of our last six games are at home but I don't think there is such a thing as an easy run home in this competition."
Matterson takes it further, rating Sunday's game against the Warriors as the club's biggest of the season.
"This game could set up the rest of the season for us," Matterson claims.
"The [42-8] loss to the Panthers doesn't look too flash but we still think we are in pretty good shape.
"It was four-all after 25 minutes the other night when we lost Simon and we didn't react well to losing our skipper.
"That doesn't excuse the defence or number of one-on-one misses but there is no panic and this side doesn't lack confidence.
"People forget we beat Brisbane a month ago in Brisbane and won three in a row before the Panthers game.
"And the fact is we didn't lose any ground on the table because all the other sides around us lost as well.
"We know the top four is probably out of reach now, but you finish fifth or sixth and still give yourself a big chance of making an impact in the playoffs.
"The biggest thing is we recognise where we have to improve and this side is capable of making those improvements."
![TiTTieS_[CNTDN]](/data/avatars/m/5/5289.jpg?1151924577){kind=avatar}
I wasn't sure if you meant that "another troll" was me or someone else 8)
Yep well done raiders management!
