The 2025 Canberra Raiders season has been one of the most exciting, with the team showing they have what it takes to make it through to the finals. Photo: Jaye Grieshaber.
Very few fans get to see that final walk down the tunnel as the Raiders players head to the sheds at Canberra Stadium.
The tunnel wall is lined with a history lesson featuring a montage of players and moments from the glory years.
The aim is to ensure the current playing group has an understanding of the feats of the 1989, 1990, and 1994 Raiders premiership teams.
Ricky Stuart, during his reign as coach, has gone above and beyond to establish connections between the past and current players, including quizzes to ensure the playing group is aware of those who have gone before them.
The players are not only reminded of the glory days, but there is also an emphasis on the opportunity this current group has to create their own history with the prospect that their images could also be lining the walls of the tunnel at Canberra Stadium.
No doubt the players will be reminded of the opportunity to create their own history as we move closer to the finals.
It is impossible to identify the exact reason why the Raiders have gone from missing the finals in 2024 to leading the competition in 2025 with two rounds to go.
Weekes is one of the Raiders’ young stars of the 2025 Canberra Raiders season. Photo: Jaye Grieshaber.
Injuries – until yesterday’s confirmation that Xavier Savage would be out for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury – have played a key role.
Apart from longer-term injuries to Savelio Tamale and Matty Nicholson, and now Savage, there have been very few disruptions.
Compare this to the massive injury toll at the Rabbitohs, which has crippled their season, with up to 13 players unavailable.
Then there has been stability at the board and CEO level.
The board has gone about its business with a minimum of fuss and remained out of the spotlight. And CEO Don Furner is among the most respected in the game. He has displayed the calmness and stability required at that level.
You only have to look back at the Wests/Tigers over the past five years, where I’m sure board instability played a key role in the Tigers’ run of wooden spoons.
Much has been said about the Raiders’ focus on youth, given their inability to attract established stars to Canberra. Again, the board deserves credit for backing this strategy when they could have easily thrown big money at established players in the hope of getting them to move to the only inland team in the NRL.
The investment in youth is paying off in spades with Strange, Pattie and Weekes, stars in the making, while the team overall seems fitter and faster than the majority of rivals. Stuart has given them latitude to play with freedom, and the players have shown they are prepared to back themselves.
Then, of course, there is the culture that binds it all together.
Walk down Lonsdale Street in Braddon, adjacent to the training headquarters, and there is evidence aplenty of the culture within the playing group as they appear to be a very tight unit away from football.
The leadership group, led by Joe Tapine, will be key in keeping players grounded as the hype surrounding the team lifts in the lead-up to the finals.
Joe Tapine has led from the front all season. Photo Jaye Grieshaber.
Building a successful club is not an overnight endeavour, and this current success has been years in the making. If anything, it appears to have arrived sooner than expected.
Factors such as injuries have the potential to unsettle the team in the next month or so, but the entire squad seems to be solid, with a stable team environment shielding them from any disruption.
This was evident for all to see on the weekend as the Green Machine fought their way back from 10 points down to beat the Panthers in the instantly named ‘Miracle in Mudgee’.
They just kept on playing and showing up for one another, right to the very last whistle.
