The Raiders have revealed their plans to make a new NRLW home in Belconnen next year ahead of their historic standalone game at Canberra Stadium on Saturday morning.
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The Raiders women have a tough kick-off time of 11am in Bruce against the reigning premiers Newcastle, and are calling on as many fans as possible to get to their first home game without the men.
Only the eastern side of the ground will be accessible due to the television broadcast, but much of the pre-game, half-time, and post-game activities, as well as food outlets, will be available for fans. People are also encouraged to use the eastern carpark if driving.
Not being a double-header, it will be the first test of the strength of the women's rugby league supporter base in Canberra.
"We love playing at home and hopefully we do get a good crowd out there being a standalone game," co-captain Zahara Temara said.
"We love the community getting around us. We get a lot of strength from our fans and the Viking Clap is so special for us, so it's going to be a great day of footy, and we're expecting to get the job done."
The Raiders will return to Canberra Stadium in two weeks for another standalone home game in their regular season finale against the Gold Coast, but next season the club will make Belconnen their preferred NRLW venue.
The Raiders Group have invested heavily in bringing the ground that is the home of West Belconnen Warriors up to scratch for NRLW games, with a new scoreboard for video replays, and upgraded change rooms.
More renovations are needed for broadcast cameras to be situated on top of the Raiders Belconnen club and for upgrades to the commentary box.
Raiders chief executive Don Furner said that work will be completed in the off-season, in readiness for their 2024 NRLW campaign.
But before then, he wants to see Raiders fans get behind the women at Canberra Stadium, where they need to win to stay in the top-four with finals not far away.
"We're playing last year's grand finalists and it'd be an amazing effort for the girls to make the semi-finals in their first year of the competition," he said.
"They love the support, it's a nice time of day and it'll be nice weather too."
The Raiders suffered a heavy defeat last weekend in Brisbane after a four-game winning streak, but are determined to get their year back on track.
The Knights are equal-top of the table with the Roosters, and boast a number of NRLW superstars in the team.
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Queensland Origin fullback Tamika Upton is the player that Temara said the Raiders will need to "shut down", but Canberra will be boosted by the return of their own star No.1 Apii Nicholls, and prop Sophie Holyman has also been named to play despite having a hip injury scare.
"I'm pretty keen to get Apii back and hearing that Soph's scan was all good was a relief because she's a massive part of our team and a big character for us," Temara said.
"Tamika is a dangerous player - very elusive, very fast and she's actually gotten stronger.
"She's someone who we do need to take time off, because if we give her space, she's just going to do some magic on us. She will be a target for us to shut down."
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