'Most certainty in two years': Raiders membership numbers surge to record levels on the back of NRLW licence

The Raiders' women's team will start to take shape next month when new coach Darrin Borthwick begins signing players for a debut season.

But the club is already feeling the impact of having a women's team, with membership numbers breaking the 10,000 barrier in October for the first time in Raiders history.

Chief executive Don Furner says the chance to watch more games and support female players coupled with post-COVID confidence has put the Raiders on track to set a membership record for the fifth consecutive year.

The NRL is expected to finalise the men's and women's 2023 fixture list in the coming weeks with hopes the Raiders will be able to begin a new era with a double-header at home.

The Raiders are one of four NRLW expansion teams added to the revamped nine-round season before a two-week finals campaign.

"There's no doubt it's already had a massive impact," Furner said. "The membership now includes a whole new team and that's a bonus.

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"It's exciting, something different for members next year because they have a women's team as well.

"We're waiting to see the draw first and that will tell us how many games line up in Canberra, and how many are double-headers and how many are at Raiders Belconnen.

"There's been a really good take up this year already and to be more than 10,000 in October is a really good sign."

The Raiders had 23,491 members last season and the club has set its sights on passing that figure for the 2023 campaign.

Furner hopes the continued easing of COVID restrictions will further encourage crowd confidence, while the Raiders are also set for a cross-code boost thanks to the women's soccer World Cup.

The ACT government decided not to bid for World Cup hosting rights because of the cost of games and the disruption they would have caused at Canberra Stadium.

Seven NRL teams will be without a home ground for up to two months during the tournament, which starts in July.

It could see the Raiders play several home games during that period despite the club's preference to avoid playing in the capital during the coldest months of the year.

"But in a lot of ways we've got more certainty than we've had for two years and more certainty than other clubs do," Furner said.

"The members will have the certainty they didn't get in 2020 and 2021. That has probably helped with the off-season numbers as well."

The Raiders still have two spots to fill on their NRL roster for next year, but are waiting to see what other signing movement there is before settling on any recruits.

"There will be movement, it might just happen later. It always happens, so we'll just wait to see what pops up," Furner said.

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