It's been a year of change for the Canberra Raiders - new chairman, new assistant coaches, new recruitment boss and new conditioning coach.
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So it'll be interesting to see if coach Ricky Stuart opts for more change when it comes to the captaincy in the New Year.
Raiders co-captain Jarrod Croker's led the Green Machine since 2015 and was joined in the role by Elliott Whitehead last year.
Whitehead's emergence as a leader could open the door for Stuart to take some weight off Croker's reconstructed shoulder.
Plus the likes of Jack Wighton and Joe Tapine have stepped up as leaders in recent years, with Wighton captaining the side in Whitehead's absence last season.
Croker's looking to force his way back into the Raiders side after playing just one NRL game this year.
He also only managed 12 games in 2021 after struggling with a degenerative knee problem.
The 32-year-old's just eight games short of 300, having climbed to third on the NRL all-time point-scoring list.
Stuart was solely focused on getting through the first half of pre-season and will worry about things like the leadership group and captaincy in the New Year.
"I'll be looking at those types of situations post Christmas," he said earlier this month.
"I just want to get to Christmas. The boys have been training really well.
"They're decisions for me to make and announce after Christmas."
![Raiders co-captain Jarrod Croker's looking to come back from a shoulder reconstruction. Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong Raiders co-captain Jarrod Croker's looking to come back from a shoulder reconstruction. Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/reqbnGrLXyZFax2TwSi3Na/c3e46987-0aed-4a6e-a383-a67992962c4c.jpg/r0_444_5400_3492_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
All we need is luck
As Stuart often says, "I don't want luck, I just don't want bad luck".
He'll be hoping the Green Machine can put this year's horror injury run behind them and fly out of the blocks in 2023.
Along with Croker, the Raiders lost new halfback Jamal Fogarty (knee) just days before the start of season, Josh Hodgson (knee) after just one game and Charnze Nicholl-Klokstad (hamstring) for a large chunk of the season.
It led to their slow start to the campaign and saw them slump to second last on the ladder after seven rounds.
It also meant they had to win seven of their last eight games to sneak into the top eight to play finals.
Stuart will be hoping for a much more consistent campaign next year.
The plus side of injuries was the emergence of fullback Xavier Savage, as well as Matt Timoko and Sebastian Kris in the centres.
Plus it opened the door for the hooking duo of Tom Starling and Zac Woolford to show there's life after Hodgson.
![Penrith back-up half Jaeman Salmon kicks Tom Starling in the groin. Picture Foxsports screenshot Penrith back-up half Jaeman Salmon kicks Tom Starling in the groin. Picture Foxsports screenshot](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/reqbnGrLXyZFax2TwSi3Na/6e7cb107-7e1d-4b6f-95db-192a5c0e933a.png/r0_143_844_619_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Controversy of the year
That could be summed up in three words. "Weak-gutted dog."
Stuart's comment - directed towards Jaeman Salmon in a post-match press conference after the Penrith half kicked Raiders hooker Tom Starling in the groin - has become part of the Aussie vernacular.
Even non-NRL fans have added it to their vocabulary.
It led to the NRL giving Stuart an unprecedented one-game ban - the first time a coach has been suspended.
Salmon's re-signed with the Panthers on a one-year deal and it won't just be Raiders fans who'll be casting an interested eye on who's named in the reigning premiers' side in round five - when the Green Machine hosts them at Canberra Stadium on March 31.
It will probably take an injury to either Nathan Cleary or Jarome Luai for Salmon to even get a game though.
![Former Raiders chairman Allan Hawke has left a lasting legacy. Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong Former Raiders chairman Allan Hawke has left a lasting legacy. Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/reqbnGrLXyZFax2TwSi3Na/33a0ef35-ca4b-4bcd-a2dd-6b662d4f122a.jpg/r0_252_4928_3023_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Honouring Hawkey
It was the clear low-point of the year for the Raiders. The death of club chairman Allan Hawke.
While he'd been fighting skin cancer for several years, it still came as a shock when "Hawkey's" battle finally came to an end on August 31.
He'd spent his final days looking forward to pulling on his lime green jersey to watch his team play.
And you could picture him smiling down from above when the Raiders thrashed the Wests Tigers 56-10 at Leichhardt Oval a few days later, before going on to beat the Melbourne Storm in an elimination final in Melbourne the following week.
It'll be interesting to see how the Raiders honour him next year, with moves rumoured to already be afoot to potentially do that at a home game.
Something in the leadership space could also be apt, given the work he put into helping develop Canberra's leaders.
Both he and new chairman Dennis Richardson passed on their vast experience as leaders in the public service at a dinner earlier this year.
![Mackenzie and Ruben Wiki could become the Raiders' first father-daughter players. Picture by Elesa Kurtz Mackenzie and Ruben Wiki could become the Raiders' first father-daughter players. Picture by Elesa Kurtz](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/reqbnGrLXyZFax2TwSi3Na/0e697892-5f05-4511-93a2-e7914235133f.jpg/r0_146_4115_2460_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Licensed to NRLW
A record State of Origin crowd at Canberra Stadium laid the platform, so it wasn't surprising when the Raiders landed one of four new licenses for the NRLW expansion.
Now they just need a salary cap, an EBA, a draw and to be allowed to sign players and they can start actually building a team.
That being said, they've already had Canberra legend Ruben Wiki's daughter MacKenzie linked with the team that will be led by inaugural coach Darrin Borthwick.
There's also another famous Raiders name being linked to the Green Machine W that will have the lime green army salivating.
Watch this space.
![Raiders star Jack Wighton helped Australia win this year's World Cup. Picture Getty Images Raiders star Jack Wighton helped Australia win this year's World Cup. Picture Getty Images](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/reqbnGrLXyZFax2TwSi3Na/d068f131-1185-4603-985f-ded0c4922e75.jpg/r0_104_5220_3039_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Kangaroos Wight on
It's the Mal Meninga World Cup selection that highlighted how big a mistake the NSW State of Origin non-selection was.
Hopefully Blues coach Brad Fittler doesn't make the same mistake twice.
Wighton showed his versatility by slotting in at right centre to help Australia win back-to-back World Cups.
In contrast, the Blues were surprise losers to Queensland after Fittler opted against recalling Wighton for the series decider after he missed Origin II due to COVID-19.
He was NSW's best player in game one and should already be crayoned in the centres for the 2023 campaign.
Wighton's been pigeon-holed as a left-sided player, but he showed his versatility on the other side of the field for his country.
It could see him pop up a lot more on the Raiders' right next season, linking up with halfback Jamal Fogarty. Mouth-watering stuff.
![Premiership winning coach Michael Maguire has joined the Raiders as an assistant coach. Picture Getty Images Premiership winning coach Michael Maguire has joined the Raiders as an assistant coach. Picture Getty Images](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/reqbnGrLXyZFax2TwSi3Na/152fe8de-c62e-4026-9ee0-922b1ae4164f.jpg/r0_505_4940_3293_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Madge returns
The Raiders now have two premiership winning coaches in an old boys one-two punch that's already having an effect at Braddon HQ.
Stuart's been impressed with the new vibe that Michael Maguire's signing as an assistant coach has already helped create at the Green Machine.
Maguire's signed on as Stuart's senior assistant - returning to the club where he played 11 games during the 90s.
The Raiders have also brought in ex-ACT Brumbies strength-and-conditioning-boss Josh Strahorn, while Joel Carbone has shifted across to be the new recruitment boss.
It has Stuart excited by the vibe.
"Madge has settled in well. We've got a pretty new coaching department again," he said.
"I've actually been quite excited - it's reinvigorated the football department.
"Josh Strahorn, who has come across from the Brumbies, has been very good.
"He's really opened my eyes up in regards to what his program is all about with his speed.
"I've been very excited with the speed of our sessions and what he's delivered.
"He's a guy who really cares about the player, which I really buy into. I like his mannerisms and the way he presents to the boys."
Most important win: While the Green Machine produced a series of stunning last-gasp winners - with a lot of them down to Hudson Young's emergence as a genuine match-winner - it's hard to go past their Lazarus-esque effort against Newcastle in round 23.
In typical Raiders fashion, they found themselves 22-8 down at half-time and staring the end of their finals hopes in the face.
Somehow Stuart rallied his troops and they came out and blew the Knights away in the second half to win 28-22 and keep their season alive.
Best player: It's hard to go past the world's best prop in Joe Tapine, who established himself as the premier big bopper in the game.
But there has to be an honourable mention to Hudson Young - his development this year has the potential for him to be spoken about in the same light as Tapine by the end of 2023.
Biggest referee debacle: It takes a special effort to be even worse than the weather was in Wollongong on July 3.
But the NRL officials working there that day somehow managed it.
They missed not one, not two, but three penalties that should've been awarded to the Green Machine in the dying seconds of the match - all of which would've given the Raiders the chance to send the game into overtime from straight in front of the posts.
Thankfully it didn't also deny the Raiders a spot in the finals.
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