Canberra Raiders avoid big freeze

The Green Machine will avoid Canberra's big freeze when the NRL announces their 2022 season draw on Tuesday at 11am.

After years of asking, the Raiders have finally avoided night home games through the dead of winter, with eight of their 12 home games for next year to be played in the afternoon.

Not only that, all of their home games from the end of May through until August will be afternoon time slots as well.

It's not only a great outcome for the Raiders, but fans as well as they no longer have to sit through the freezing cold nights watching the frost settle on their noses.

The Raiders are really happy with that family friendly aspect.

But they're also delighted to have a boost in free-to-air coverage.

They'll have eight free-to-air games next season, one up on this year, giving them greater exposure on the national stage - a stage they're looking to bounce back into the NRL finals on after missing out this campaign.

The Raiders' younger players began their pre-season on Monday, undergoing testing which will decide whether they get some extra time off - provided they've shown up in good condition.

The Canberra Times can confirm the Green Machine will face the Cronulla Sharks at Canberra Stadium in round one, which will be played on Friday, March 11, at 6pm.

It'll be the third season in a row they'll start at home and the first time they've opened against the Sharks since 2015.

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There's also been a shake-up with their home game at Wagga Wagga.

Normally it's played on the same weekend as the Wagga Gold Cup, which is held on the first Friday in May.

Instead, they'll travel to the Riverina earlier in the campaign to allow Wagga Wagga to have two draw cards to the city.

It's unclear whether the Raiders got their final request for the fixture - a raft of home blockbusters against the NRL powerhouses.

The Canberra Times revealed Canberra chief executive Don Furner had asked for a bunch of blockbusters as reward for the Raiders faithful, who have been starved of football over the past two seasons.

Last year they were forced to play home games at Campbelltown at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Then this season they relocated to the Gold Coast to be part of the NRL's Queensland bubble for the final eight rounds.

It meant four home games were played on the Gold Coast instead of at Canberra Stadium.

"We've missed out on a fair bit over the past two years. We're working with the ACT government and pushing for some blockbuster games that we missed out on," Furner said.

"We had some pretty good games at the end of this year, through no fault of anybody, but we had some good-drawing crowds - Manly and the St Georges - that we had to take away, plus we played in Campbelltown the year before.

"Day games in winter would be great and getting some blockbuster teams here would be good too - for the stadium and for us.

"I spoke to the ACT government about that last week - that we are pushing the NRL for some type of make-up of those games that we missed."