The importance of early season form is often unfairly weighted. The Raiders have stuttered through the openly 10 rounds of the past three NRL seasons:
• 2009: two wins; seven losses; one bye.
• 2008: four wins; five losses; one bye.
• 2007: four wins; five losses; one bye.
There’s no doubt that Coach Furner would prefer to head into the 2010 season with the experience of his injured outside backs Monaghan (112 games), David Milne (45) and Justin Carney (20), both scheduled for a round five return.
However the injuries allow Furner to build confidence in his exciting young backline (Dan Vidot, Jared Croker, Marc Herbert and Josh Dugan have 79 games between them) as they develop chemistry and form the rhythms that will determine their style of play this season.
Additionally Furner can build on the club’s depth by blooding youngsters Joel Thompson, Reece Robinson and allowing new signing Danny Galea to find his role within the side as he plugs the gaps through the early rounds.
The eventual return of a fresh Monaghan, Carney and Milne into a confident firing backline will serve the side well in the middle to back half of the season. And in the event of in-season injuries, Furner will have established confidence in his young replacement players to handle high pressure demands of NRL first grade play.
While it’s beneficial for a side to get some early wins on the board, the Raiders have been slow starters the past three seasons. The side's form heading into the finals will matter most.
The loss of Monaghan for the early rounds could be a blessing in disguise for the Green Machine.
The loss of Monaghan for the early rounds could be a blessing in disguise for the Green Machine.
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