As a rusted-on Raiders supporter who was born and bred in Canberra, I don’t care if you want to jump on the Raiders bandwagon now that your club has been knocked out, but we Raiders fans can be a little passionate, so here’s a few facts and tips to get you through Sunday’s BBQ.

Quick Raiders Facts

  • The Raiders have won three Premierships -1989, 1990 and 1994 (the last time they were in a Grand Final)
  • The Raiders have two Captains – Jarrod Croker and Josh Hodgson
  • There are four Englishmen who play for the Raiders – Josh Hodgson, John Bateman, Elliott Whitehead and Ryan Sutton
  • Their coach Ricky Stuart used to play for the side ‘back in the day’
  • Josh Papalii is this year’s Mal Meninga Medallist (awarded to the best Raider each year)
  • The side is sometimes affectionately known as ‘The Milk’ due to a long-standing sponsorship deal with Canberra Milk who are an original sponsor of the club.

Quick Raiders Survival Guide tips

  • When doing the Viking Clap wait for two strokes of the drum before clapping i.e. boom, boom, clap!
  • If you’ve never watched league before a good tip is when the Raiders have the ball yell ‘get him onside ref’ or if the Raiders receive a penalty ‘he’s been doing it all day sir’ these are sure to get you some easy laughing points.
  • If the side does anything good it’s always a safe bet to just yell ‘up the Raiders’, ‘carn the Raiders’, ‘Up the Milk’

Where Can you Watch or Access the Game?

If you’re not going to the Grand Final on Sunday, there are plenty of ways you can watch or listen to the game. The ACT Government has confirmed a big screen will be going in at the oval at Raiders West Belconnen (in Holt) for fans who want to share the experience. Another good tip would be to visit your local Raiders Club, or if that doesn’t suffice there are always local pubs and clubs that will be showing the game.

If you don’t want to go out, you can catch the game on Channel Nine, grab a couple of choc mint Canberra Milks and sit back and enjoy. If you’re not going to have access to a television, your radio alternatives include 2CC’s Continuous Call Team coverage (1206 AM), Raiders on Mix (106.3 FM) and ABC Grandstand (666 AM).

Win or lose it’s going to be a special week for the Raiders and their fans, lets embrace it and paint the town green because who knows? It could be another 25 years before we get to enjoy this again.