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With the minor premiership secured, Canberra will enter the finals as the NRL’s freshest team, but coach Ricky Stuart is expected to resist the urge to emulate Penrith by resting his entire squad for their final-round clash with the Dolphins on Sunday.
The Panthers caused consternation last week when they stood down 16 players and fielded a reserve grade line-up for their clash with Canterbury, after coach Ivan Cleary gambled on revitalising his troops a fortnight out from the finals.
With the top four apparently out of reach and a top-eight position guaranteed, Cleary was content to write off a regular-season game to recalibrate and reinvigorate his team before they head into the post-season chasing a fifth successive title.
Stuart has earned the luxury of following a similar path this week, should he choose to do so, after the Raiders clinched their first minor premiership since 1990 with their win against Wests Tigers last weekend.
Raiders chief executive Don Furner said Stuart would weigh up who needs a rest and estimated “four or five players” might be given the week off, before adding: “We won’t get close to the Penrith numbers.”
Nonetheless, the Green Machine appear to have a clear-cut advantage when it comes to fresh legs, thanks to a draw that initially seemed daunting, but now appears to have been a blessing in disguise.
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart and captain Joseph Tapine pose with the JJ Giltinan Shield after winning the minor premiership.Credit: Getty Images
After kicking off the season with a hectic schedule that included trips to Las Vegas, Manly, Townsville, Darwin, Gold Coast and Brisbane in their first nine games, Canberra were not allocated their first bye until round 15. They were the last NRL team to receive the bye, and five teams had two byes before Canberra had their first.
But the Raiders turned what could have been a handicap into an asset by winning 11 of their first 14 games.
In the past 11 weeks, Canberra have had three breaks, whereas some of their top-eight rivals have had no respite for the past two months. Melbourne, in particular, will play their 12th game since their last bye when they travel to Suncorp Stadium to face Brisbane on Thursday.
With a top-two finish guaranteed, the Storm rested Xavier Coates, Nick Meaney, Eli Katoa and Josh King last week, but after a 40-10 thrashing by the Sydney Roosters, coach Craig Bellamy indicated it would be all hands on deck this week.
“We sort of planned on resting players [against the Roosters],” Bellamy said. “We’re probably not going to rest a whole heap next week, so that was in our plan.”
Another coach with the option of resting players this week is Cronulla’s Craig Fitzgibbon, who will know 24 hours in advance if his team is still in with a top-four chance when they face Canterbury at Accor Stadium on Saturday.
“I don’t know what the scenario is that needs to play out, which I will look at this week … there’s Friday games, [but] you’ve only got 24 hours to choose whether you’re going to rest two blokes at best,” Fitzgibbon said after Sunday’s 40-16 win over Newcastle.
“So we’ll weigh that up. But we’ve just had a bye. We’ve just had a bye, but we feel like we need to play well.”
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Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo could also freshen up his squad this week, having already secured third place in the finals.
However, given the Bulldogs have lost three of their past five games, and were underwhelming in beating Penrith’s second-stringers 28-4 last week, Ciraldo faces a dilemma.
The clash with Cronulla will be Canterbury’s 11th since their most recent bye.
Ciraldo will have to evaluate the benefits of giving weary players a spell, as opposed to a last-round win that might give his team some momentum and confidence heading into the play-offs.
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Michael Chammas and Andrew “Joey” Johns dissect the upcoming NRL round, plus the latest footy news, results and analysis. Sign up for the Sin Bin newsletter.
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