Cronulla Sharks great Paul Gallen has raised serious concern for the Raiders franchise after a once-promising season spluttered to a grim end tonight in a shocking 40-16 loss to the Roosters.
Despite the woe that dogged them both on and off the field throughout the year, the Green Machine had one last chance at redemption in a must-win clash against a severely depleted Roosters outfit in Mackay.
But what transpired was a complete and utter capitulation as the Raiders saw their last ticket to the finals go up in flames in what Eighth Immortal Andrew Johns believed was the worst he’d seen them play.
“The Raiders were so bad tonight. It’s the worst I’ve seen them play,” Johns told Nine’s Thursday Night Hisense Footy.
“The pillars of your attack are completing your sets, building pressure, tiring the opposition out, winning the battle of field position. They did nothing.
“That was like watching an under 14s team bumble and fumble their way around. That was horrible, considering what was on the line, the players who were out for the Roosters – they were coming off a hammering being beaten last week and there was no Joseph Manu this week and they get rolled by 40. Yuck.”
Gallen, a former student of coach Ricky Stuart’s, was equally at a loss for words over the Raiders’ apparent lack of desire to take control of their fate.
He believed the franchise had some serious questions to ask themselves after such a worrying fall from grace, one that not long ago saw them contesting the 2019 NRL premiership.
“The Raiders were horrible. You can’t sugar-coat it and say they were bad, they were horrible,” He said.
“When you get to this stage of the season in the position they’re in, you don’t want to have to rely on other results. You just want to be able to control your own destiny. The Raiders had that tonight. Had they won tonight against a depleted Roosters team they were guaranteed a top-eight spot. They had 40-points put on them.
“It was a horrible effort all around by the Raiders. Their fans must be severely disappointed. I don’t know what is going on down there.
“They had a roster at the start of the season that I thought would finish top-four, they’ve been nowhere near it all season and it’s been really disappointing to be a Raiders fan.”
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