Squad Breakdown: Canberra Raiders SC roster analysis

While maintaining the brunt of their squad, the Raiders again loom as a tough side to judge heading into round 1.



Very rarely are they littered with genuine stars, but it hasn’t stopped them from pushing heavyweight clubs right to the brink in past seasons.



What they do have is outstanding depth, and a loaded forward pack.



The acquisition of Adam Elliott gives them five genuine edge back-rowers all capable of playing middle and in big time. It’s a mobile pack and one that’s suited to the modern game.



Jamal Fogarty is a quality replacement for George Williams and adds a bit of flare to the halves.



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His organisation will have to lift to allow their genuine star – Jack Wighton – to focus on running the ball and hopefully rediscovering his Dally M Medal winning form.



They have a friendly opening three fixtures, before two tough match ups in rural NSW.



They face: Sharks (H), Cowboys (A), Titans (H), Sea Eagles (Mudgee), Storm (Wagga).



With our predicted teams, for SuperCoach purposes we’ve included any players returning from injury/suspension in the first three rounds in the starting line-up.



This combines both the likely starting teams and best 17s, as initial price changes occur after Round 3.



Let’s take a look at the Raiders SuperCoach prospects to begin the new season.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Predicted team</h2>



1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Nick Cotric 3. Seb Kris 4. Matthew Timoko 5. Jordan Rapana 6. Jack Wighton 7. Brad Schneider 8. Josh Papalii 9. Josh Hodgson 10. Joe Tapine 11. Hudson Young 12. Elliott Whitehead 13. Adam Elliott



Bench: 14. Tom Starling 15. Ryan Sutton 16. Corey Horsburgh 17. Corey Harawira-Naera



Injuries/suspensions:&nbsp;Harley Smith-Shields (ACL, season), Jordan Rapana (suspension, Round 3), Jamal Fogarty (Knee, mid-season)



Analysis:&nbsp;A disrupted pre-season for Xavier Savage may see Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad get the nod at fullback for round 1, however the spot will be up for grabs as they fight it out leading into the opener.



Harley Smith-Shields did his ACL during the pre-season in a huge blow for the promising youngster and the Raiders’ backline depth.



That wasn’t helped by Jordan Rapana’s suspension in the All Stars fixture, seeing him ruled out for the first two rounds.



It could see Savage start at fullback and CNK on the wing in the opening rounds, however I’d say it’s more likely that Semi Valemei or even Seb Kris deputise on the wing until Rapana returns.



Honestly, the backline has spots up for grabs all over the place, with Valemei and Kris both in contention to start at centre over skipper Jarrod Croker.



It could go any way, but I have Kris narrowly ahead of Croker.



Recruit Adam Elliott may start at lock, with Joe Tapine at prop and Corey Horsburgh off the bench.



With a plethora of back-rowers at their disposal, including Josh Hodgson in the rotation, Ricky Stuart tends to vary his starting options and game time each week.



Ryan Sutton also floats in and out of the starting side week-to-week.



The hooking dilemma is interesting as Tom Starling and Hodgson battle it out for the starting role. It really could go either way and it looms as a big decision for Stuart.



I’m like Starling to start, and it’s still possible, but with the immense back-row depth I’m leaning towards Hodgson starting for the first 20 minutes as per last season.



Unless a utility back joins Hodgson/Starling on the bench, which is fairly unlikely but possible, it makes the Raiders pack hard to start with in SuperCoach until we see how the minutes play out.



With Fogarty gone, Brad Schneider gets first crack to partner Jack Wighton in the halves and is expected to kick goals.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">GUNS</h2>



Jordan Rapana // $554,700 // CTW-FLB // 2021 Ave: 63.3



After a few years of relative SuperCoach mediocrity, Rapana was back to his best to produce a 63 point average in 2021.



This was in a Raiders outfit that missed finals and weren’t overly efficient in the backline.



Noted for work ethic as a staple of his SuperCoach game, he got his base scoring back to 29 per game last season, along with 130 tackle breaks.



Nick Cotric is typically a left-edge winger, so I’d assume he comes in on that side alongside Jack Wighton.



This wouldn’t be ideal for Rapa as the right edge is likely to see a bit less ball, although it may be of higher quality if Fogarty fires.



The nice early draw is enticing, but at a big price tag I’d prefer to target gun CTWs in the competition’s top teams who boast that higher ceiling.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">MID-RANGERS</h2>



Tom Starling // $343,800 // HOK // 2021 Ave: 39.2



I rate Starlo, highly…



He has serious Damien Cook vibes about him when scooting off a quick play-the-ball, albeit his service from dummy-half needs work (this doesn’t impact SC scoring though, so meh).



As mentioned above, he’s fighting with Hodgo for the starting hooker role.



I don’t know which way Stuart will go, but I think he’ll be extremely tempted to go with Starling, particularly with how effective Hodgo was last season at lock.



Starling averaged 44 minutes per game last season for 39 points, with 30 in base, which is very strong.



In five games of 70+ minutes last season he averaged 62.8 points, which included a 31 point effort in 70 minutes against SuperCoach killers Melbourne.



There’s a few question marks, so if named to start I’m likely to watch his minutes the first two rounds, then jump on if given the time prior to round 3 price rises.



There’s a decent anti-POD play in opting for him over Chris Randall at hooker for just $100k more. The potential points difference could pay off.



A big monitor throughout the pre-season…



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Corey Horsburgh // $414,700 // FRF-2RF // 2021 Ave: 47.3



Big Red has some serious go about him, and there’s a genuinely good SuperCoach player in him.



Unfortunately injury has plagued him in recent seasons so we haven’t quite seen him hit his heights.



He has a strong work ethic, can play big minutes, and vital to SuperCoach is the fact he has a great offload.



Now this is more for one down the track as the forward pack is stacked, but if the minutes come he could be a rock solid FRF option, with the benefit of dual 2RF positioning.



Limited to 10 games last season all off the bench, he averaged 47 points in 34 minutes at a huge 1.34 points per minute, with 37 base per game. He had 15 offloads in that time.



The season prior, six games for an average of 56 points in 51 minutes.



He could really be the Christian Welch of last season, with a bit more upside.



I won’t start with him, but if minutes come in the opening two rounds and he’s freeing that arm I’ll swoop like a hawk.



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">I was just thinking about Xavier Savage. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RandomHighlight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RandomHighlight</a> <a href="https://t.co/vfaCd3JCdw">pic.twitter.com/vfaCd3JCdw</a>&mdash; Jason Oliver (@JasonNRL) <a href="https://twitter.com/JasonNRL/status/1489760363209900032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">BARGAIN BUYS</h2>



Xavier Savage // $286,400 // FLB // 2021 Ave: 46.7



Savage has had an interrupted pre-season which makes me think Charnze will get first nod at fullback.



However, with a big trial performance that could easily change.



If he does, he’s a little awkward in that he’s well above bottom dollar and only available at fullback, so are you really going to forego the likes of Turbo/Teddy/Papy to get him?



For me, very unlikely, but the option is very viable, especially if we have a dearth of cheapies in round 1 that may force our hands a touch.



In two 80 minute games last season he scored 25 and 114, I suspect he’ll have these highs and lows littered throughout his scoring, making him a risky play in 17s, but with serious upside.



Brad Schneider // $188,700 // HFB // 2021 Ave: 6.0



With Fogarty injured, Schneider gets first crack in the halves. At bottom dollar, kicking goals (if Croker isn&#8217;t selected), and a soft opening draw he&#8217;s a genuine cheapie prospect.



The only issue will be job security as he&#8217;s very unproven, however the role looks good and kicking duties (TBC) should hopefully ease concerns of sub 20 point scores.



To be fair, almost every cheapie has job security issues, so he may be worth the early punt.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">AVOIDS</h2>



Back-rowers



The Raiders have several extremely SuperCoach relevant back-rowers in Hudson Young, Adam Elliott, Joe Tapine and Corey Harawira-Naera.



All have had hot streaks in recent years that have made them very viable options, but their depth in the position is ridiculous.



Further to those four, Ryan Sutton often starts at lock (will enter front-row rotation fulltime this year, not that there’s much of a difference), as can Corey Horsburgh who has actually also spent time on an edge in recent years.



Throw into the mix the fact that Josh Hodgson has basically become a converted lock under Ricky Stuart and the minutes are just far too hard to predict.



What may occur though is that any of these players could bottom out in price at some stage of the season, then when inevitable injuries/suspensions strike they may find themselves in a big minute role where we can pick them up cheap.



Monitor minutes early then reassess when we see how things unfold.



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Josh Papalii // $522,100 // FRF // 2021 Ave: 59.6



I’ve always been a huge fan of Big Papa as a SuperCoach player due to his high ceiling for a FRF option due to his immense attacking ability.



However, he typically starts the season with fewer minutes (not substantially) as Stuart builds up his main forward towards the back end of the season.



He’s always in POD range and will tempt some, but he’s never been one I’ve eyed off until post-Origin.



Jack Wighton // $412,500 // 5/8 // 2021 Ave: 47.0



Every pre-season people get keen on Jack Wighton, but as good a footballer as he is, he’s never been SuperCoach relevant and I don’t see it changing.



I hope he proves me wrong and starts with three tonnes, but I’m not going near him even at the bargain rate.

Squad Breakdown: Canberra Raiders SC roster analysis

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