Canberra Stadium might lose some of it's frosty edge, but Raiders boss Don Furner insists teams will still be worried about getting the Canberra cold shoulder.
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The Raiders were delighted with their 2022 NRL draw, which was released on Tuesday.
Furner said they got most of their requests - day games during winter, more free-to-air coverage, more blockbusters and less five-day turnarounds.
Tick, tick, tick, tick.
They'll also look to continue taking games to Wagga Wagga beyond next year, when their deal with the council runs out, but their stadium contract with the ACT government might limit that to once every couple of years.
Of their 12 home games, the Raiders have seven in afternoon time slots - with all games at Canberra Stadium during the day from the end of May onwards.
It means less bitterly cold nights for soft Sydneysiders and Queenslanders to contend with, but the flipside of that is better conditions for the fans.
"That's the trade off. A lot teams don't like coming down here in winter. It's still going to be cold," Furner said.
"They still don't like coming down here, but I'd still rather the bigger crowds and families and kids getting home by 7pm rather than having to step out at 7pm and get home at 10pm.
"I think we can handle that. They still get out of the bus, the opposition teams, and they don't like the cold - even at 3pm - so we've still got that."
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The Canberra Times also revealed the Raiders wanted blockbuster home games to make up for the absence of football in the capital over the past two seasons.
They've been forced to play home games at Campbelltown and on the Gold Coast due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Furner largely got his wish with reigning premiers Penrith, Parramatta, Manly, St George Illawarra and the Sydney Roosters all coming to the capital - and the Melbourne Storm playing in Wagga Wagga.
They also only have the one five-day turnaround, which was a godsend given they have a massive travel toll to look forward to.
They play at Lang Park twice, Townsville, Redcliffe, the Gold Coast, Dubbo, Mudgee, Melbourne, Newcastle and Wollongong.
"The NRL did a good job in restricting most teams to only one or two five-day turnarounds," Furner said.
"With all that travel, a five-day turnaround makes it tough so we've only got one of those."
The Raiders will play the Storm in Wagga Wagga - one of three regional games on top of away games in Dubbo and Mudgee.
But it won't be on the same weekend as the Wagga Gold Cup, which is on the first Friday in May.
Instead they'll head out earlier in the season to allow the Wagga Wagga council two showcase weekends in the aftermath of COVID-19.
Their deal with the council to play home games in the Riverina city ends after next season, but Furner said they would like to return - although their stadium contract with the ACT government might not allow that on an annual basis.
"We'd definitely like to [go back to Wagga]," he said.
"We're under restrictions with the agreement we signed with the ACT government. We're allowed to take two [games] out [of Canberra] every five years, otherwise we have to pay a penalty.
"I think we restarted a new deal and we've still got one more we can take out there [Wagga] in the next three years.
"We haven't worked it out yet. We might skip 2023 and look back out there in 2024 or 2025, but it might not be 2023."
RAIDERS 2022 DRAW
ROUND 1: Raiders v Sharks at Canberra Stadium, Friday, March 11, 6pm
ROUND 2: Cowboys v Raiders at Townsville, Saturday, March 19, 7.35pm
ROUND 3: Raiders v Titans at Canberra Stadium, Saturday, March 26, 7.35pm
ROUND 4: Sea Eagles v Raiders at Mudgee, Saturday, April 2, 5.30pm
ROUND 5: Raiders v Storm at Wagga Wagga, Saturday, April 9, 3pm
ROUND 6: Raiders v Cowboys at Canberra Stadium, Thursday, April 14, 7.50pm
ROUND 7: Panthers v Raiders at Penrith Stadium, Sunday, April 24, 4.05pm
ROUND 8: Warriors v Raiders at Redcliffe, Saturday, April 30, 3pm
ROUND 9: Raiders v Bulldogs at Canberra Stadium, Friday, May 6, 6pm
ROUND 10: Sharks v Raiders at Lang Park, Sunday, May 15, 1.50pm (Magic Round)
ROUND 11: Rabbitohs v Raiders at Dubbo, Sunday, May 22, 2pm
ROUND 12: Raiders v Eels at Canberra Stadium, Sunday, May 29, 4.05pm
ROUND 13: Raiders v Roosters at Canberra Stadium, Sunday, June 5, 4.05pm
ROUND 14: Broncos v Raiders at Lang Park, Saturday, June 11, 7.35pm
ROUND 15: Raiders v Knights at Canberra Stadium, Sunday, June 19, 2pm
ROUND 16: Dragons v Raiders at Wollongong, Sunday, July 3, 4.05pm
ROUND 17: BYE
ROUND 18: Storm v Raiders at Melbourne, Sunday, July 17, 4.05pm
ROUND 19: Raiders v Warriors at Canberra Stadium, Saturday, July 23, 3pm
ROUND 20: Titans v Raiders at Gold Coast, Saturday, July 30, 3pm
ROUND 21: Raiders v Panthers at Canberra Stadium, Saturday, August 6, 5.30pm
ROUND 22: Raiders v Dragons at Canberra Stadium, Sunday, August 14, 2pm
ROUND 23: Knights v Raiders at Newcastle, Sunday, August 21, 4.05pm
ROUND 24: Raiders v Sea Eagles at Canberra Stadium, Saturday, August 27, 3pm
ROUND 25: Tigers v Raiders at Leichhardt, Sunday, September 4, 4pm.