2008 is the Canberra Raiders' 27th season in the National Rugby League competition. The Raiders began the year favourites to win the wooden spoon.^[1]

Pre-season

Season Summary

The 2008 season started with some promise for the Raiders - a good showing despite a loss in round 1 vs. Newcastle was followed up with two solid wins against Penrith and St.George-Illawarra. The club has since suffered a series of losses, whilst snaring only the occasional victory, with a big come from behind victory against Wests being noteworthy. In the representative field, Todd Carney and Joel Monaghan picked for Country Origin, and Monaghan being a shadow player for the New South Wales Side.

However, as in recent seasons, injuries have been the curse of the Canberra club, with no less than three players suffering dreaded ACL ruptures, arguably the worst kind of injury a footballer can receive, essentially ending their season. Worse, the three players afflicted, Will Zillman, Lincoln Withers and Phil Graham are amongst the Raiders best players. Compounding this, talented back-rowers Neville Costigan and Tom Learoyd-Lahrs have spent minimal time on the field due to recurring minor injuries. The club has also suffered badly in the recruiting race, with Zillman and strong front rower Michael Weyman opting to go elsewhere next season, with indications that Costigan and Scott Logan will do the same. Additionally, half Michael Dobson left the club mid-season for the English club Hull, due to lack of opportunities in Canberra. Finally, Coach Neil Henry has exercised a get-out clause in his contract, and will coach the North-Queensland Cowboys in 2009, with former player and club legend, but inexperienced coach, David Furner taking over in 2009. To date, beyond a few talented youngsters, the club is yet to procure a single player of note for season 2009, and will once again be forced to rely on youthful talent. At Round 13, Canberra sat well outside the eight, and the season looked as though it could end with a whimper.

However, far from fading away, the Raiders bounced back with a comprehensive victory over the Brisbane Broncos and then proceded to thrash the Canterbury Bulldogs, inflicting the worst loss on the Sydney based club in over half a century. Despite successive losses to the Cronulla Sharks and defending premiers Melbourne Storm, Canberra fought hard in both games, then broke a 13 year losing streak in Wollongong (and ended a 7 match winning streak by the home team) with an impressive win over St. George-Illawarra. The season highlight, however, was a comprehensive 34-12 win over league leaders, the Sydney Roosters. With 7 rounds left in the 2008 premiership, Canberra sits just one point outside the top eight. With a comparitively friendly draw, playing several teams below them on the table, the Raiders are poised to sneak into the semi-finals for the first time in two years.

The season has not been without controversy, however, with star halfback Todd Carney and fullback Bronx Goodwin being stood down by the club after an altercation at a Canberra nightclub following the round 19 win against the Roosters.

2008 Season Results

Toyota Cup (Under 20s)

The Raiders' Toyota Cup team won 28-24 over the Broncos' team in golden point extra time to with the Toyota Cup (Under 20s) premiership in the lead-up game to the NRL Grand Final on 5 October 2008^[2]

Club Awards

Squad

Run-on Team

Canberra Raiders Run-on Team
8 Troy Thompson 9 Ryan Hinchcliffe 10 Dane Tilse 11 Marshall Chalk 12 Joe Picker 13 Alan Tongue(c) 7 Marc Herbert 6 Terry Campese 4 Joel Monaghan 3 Adrian Purtell 5 Justin Carney 2 Colin Best 1 David Milne

Season Ladder

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Melbourne	24	17	0	7	2	584	282	+302	38
2	Manly	24	17	0	7	2	645	355	+290	38
3	Cronulla	24	17	0	7	2	451	384	+67	38
4	Sydney	24	15	0	9	2	511	446	+65	34
5	Brisbane	24	14	1	9	2	560	452	+108	33
6	Canberra	24	13	0	11	2	640	527	+113	30
7	St. George Illawarra	24	13	0	11	2	489	378	+111	30
8	New Zealand	24	13	0	11	2	502	567	-65	30
9	Newcastle	24	12	0	12	2	516	486	+30	28
10	Wests Tigers	24	11	0	13	2	528	560	-32	26
11	Parramatta	24	11	0	13	2	501	547	-46	26
12	Penrith	24	10	1	13	2	504	611	-107	25
13	Gold Coast	24	10	0	14	2	476	586	-110	24
14	South Sydney	24	8	0	16	2	453	666	-213	20
15	North Queensland	24	5	0	19	2	474	638	-164	14
16	Bulldogs	24	5	0	19	2	433	782	-349	14

References