‘Up the milk’ will ring out at Canberra games again with the Raiders hoping it’s an omen for their NRL finals campaign, which starts against Cronulla on Saturday night.
Canberra Milk will return as their main sponsor, with coach Ricky Stuart recalling the glory days of 1994, when the former halfback wore the logo in the Raiders’ grand-final triumph over Canterbury, which was their last premiership.
While the sponsor won’t appear until 2021, the ‘up the milk’ war-cry will no doubt resonate at Canberra Stadium on Saturday with the ACT government allowing 9600 fans plus corporates in for the final.
“It’s a wonderful slogan the fans have brought up when they’re supporting us – up the milk goes back a long time,” Stuart said on Monday.
“I’m a great collector of memorabilia and Canberra Milk plays a major role in a lot of the memorabilia from some great seasons at the club.”
It’s the first time since 2004 that the Raiders are playing in successive finals series and Stuart said they were “hungry” after last year’s grand-final loss.
“The way they handled the big occasion last season and the build-up right through to the grand final is always going to be a big help for a future point of view,” Stuart said.
“It opened their eyes but what it also did is made us so hungry in wanting success.”
The Raiders will have to fight their way to the main decider from outside the top four but Stuart felt they were in good shape, particularly after resting many of their stars in the final round.
In a finals taster they also played the Sharks, winning 38-28, but Stuart expected a different match this time around with both sides mostly at full-strength.
While their key men return, the Raiders will be without English forward Ryan Sutton who will likely sit out the season with a knee injury.
Stuart said it was tough to see Sutton injured after he was cut from last year’s grand final.
“He really dedicated his off-season to getting back into the 17 and playing well and he’s done that all year.
“He’s been at the forefront of our middles and we’ve needed him to because we’ve had so many injuries.
“He’s a big reason why we’ve got to where we are on the table.”
