FIVE BIGGEST HOME GAMES IN CANBERRA RAIDERS HISTORY
5. Raiders v Sharks in an elimination final, 2012
Canberra thrashed Cronulla 34-16 in week one of the finals and the 24,450 fans in the stands dared to dream of a drought-breaking title. Those dreams were crushed a week later when South Sydney waltzed passed the Raiders in Sydney.
4. Raiders v Roosters in round 26, 2003.
The final round of the 2003 season saw Ricky Stuart’s Roosters face Canberra with second place up for grabs. The Roosters prevailed 23-16 in front of 22,813 fans which had a significant effect on the finals series. It meant Canberra faced Melbourne in the fourth-versus-fifth clash in week one and the Green Machine were bounced out in straight sets by the Warriors the following week.
4. Raiders v Western Suburbs in round 21, 1994.
The Green Machine faithful broke the ground record for their greatest servant – Mal Meninga. There was 25,253 in the house for Meninga’s final home game. They beat Wests 40-22 and one month later completed Meninga’s fairytale by thrashing Canterbury in the grand final for the club’s third premiership in six years.
2. Raiders v Wests Tigers in an elimination final, 2010
Canberra were playing for a spot in their first preliminary final since 1997 and the biggest home crowd in club history turned out with 26,476 pouring through the gates. That attendance record will be broken against South Sydney on Friday and Raiders skipper Jarrod Croker will be hoping for a dramatically different result. In 2010, the baby-faced Croker broke Canberra hearts when he missed a late penalty goal against Wests Tigers to send the game into extra time. Their season ended with the 26-24 loss.
1. Raiders v Sharks in a qualifying final, 2016
It was Canberra’s best campaign in 20 years and they looked primed for a drought-breaking premiership after finishing the regular season on a 10-game winning streak and clinching second on the ladder. But they lost week one in a nail-biter against Cronulla in front of 25,592 people. It cost the Raiders a week off and while they prevailed against Penrith at home in week two, the extra game eventually took its toll as they lost the preliminary final against Melbourne 14-12.