Getting up at 8:00am is not a good way to start a Sunday, especially when sleep time for the previous night totalled about 3 hours, however there was an RA away trip on so it had to be done.

The faithfuls gathered at Kingston for a 9:00am departure, and in a new RA record, the first bus was on the road 3 minutes early. The other bus had to wait for the Northsiders who were being questioned at the border into the Southside…

Bus 1, the wet bus, was making surprisingly good time, and there was plenty of hearty banter from the front of the bus on the Raiders players and management. Those in the back were trying to pry as much info as we could out of Dugan’s grandma, but she was as tight lipped as Dugan’s defence and didn’t give up anything. KW and I began reminiscing on previous RA adventures, giving the newbies a taste of what can happen when you get on it with the RA!

The compulsory Sutton Forrest Maccas stop allowed the 2nd bus to finally catch up, and after a quick breakfast off the Maccas lunch menu (missed brekky by 5 mins – devo) we were on the road again. We had remembered to put the beers on ice, and keep them on our bus, so all was good. After a bit more debating, which included KW being accosted for not knowing when the next Raiders board meeting was on, the newspaper quizzes came out to play. Being the only one who could read at the back of the bus I was designated quiz master, while the others prepared themselves for questions. Unfortunately for KW, Bindi Irwin was not the answer to any question, and neither was John Newcombe in the Wimbledon trivia. Wayno was dominating everything, with Greg chipping in quietly from the corner every now and then.

Once ‘who wants to be a millionaire’ was over, it was confirmed that beer o’clock had been reached, and the back of the bus duly cracked a few. The 2nd bus, which at this point was travelling closely behind, was not impressed by this fact, as they only had water on board. Needless to say we did our best to show them what they were missing.

Upon arrival at our destination, we parked the buses at the gate, and headed into the worst ground in the league. Seiffert Oval has better seats than disLeichhardt, and that is saying something. Wooden planks greeted those with seating tickets, while those of us with GA at least had some grass for cushioning. The RA congregated on the hill in front of the portable big screen, and cheered on the Toyota Cup boys to a resounding victory over the competition leaders. With first grade kick off fast approaching we realised we had no confetti, enter Jed, the newspaper tearing champion of the RA. He had us 3 bags of confetti in no time, which we spread accordingly over the whole hill as the Raiders ran out. Thanks for stripping, Jed.

No need to go over the game, the Raiders did their best to make us think we were in for a win then hit the showers 5 minutes early. After 75 minutes of silence, Tigpies fans actually started cheering and tried to start up some chant about being a long way back to Canberra. The fact that we wanted to return to civilisation, where the toilets actually flush and dentists exist meant the chant didn’t last too long!

We wandered (crutched) back out to the bus, where KW was given the job of telling the non drinkers they were in the mini van for the way home. None were too disappointed about it, I think it was something to do with the fact that wouldn’t have to stop 15 times for pee breaks on the way.

We boarded the bus, cracked a beer, and went nowhere. Naturally we were sitting ducks for the attentions of passing mouthy, douchebag Tigpies fans with one notable twat unable to do anything other than sing ‘We are the Champions’ at us. The irony here is that this tool was wearing a wallabies jersey and had a haircut from 1993, which looked incredibly shit and we told him so. This jerk probably should have borrowed a hat from the Fat Controller – who was a good sport as he stood there with a ridiculous grin on his face while we proceeded to take the piss out of him and his stupid looking hat. The traffic out of the ground was terrible, but we were parked behind the Raiders bus so managed to give all the boys a cheer as they were walking to it. Massive ups to T Thommo and Monas who stopped and had chat, and also JayCar for giving me his sandwich. The Orr’s and I shared it and man was it a good sandwich – double ham!

After a pee break before we even left the ground, we were off, slowly. We made it about half an hour down the road before another pee stop was ordered. We stopped at a servo in Bankstown that doubled as a kebab store, which did some mean hot chips. As we were about to leave we noticed 2 were missing, only to see Spewing Sam and Slippery running back across the road with some Sunny Vale and Fruity Lexia casks. Trouble was brewing… or spewing…

Attempts were made to get some songs happening, however a mechanical failure with the ipod player meant that there was no backing music, and so every song lasted about 2 lines. The only songs that were finished the entire trip were the Green Machine, Queanbeyan High and Tuggeranong Hawks victory songs. The drinking song also made an appearance, and Spewing Sam, as his new name suggests, was soon decorating the outside of the bus with the Sunny Vale. The RA bus was stopped for its second ever spew stop (the first was on the Dragons away, and that was for Spewing Sam’s brother), and Sam was given a red card for his antics. Liam then decided it was a good time to bring out the Vuvuzela’s and for the rest of the trip the bus sounded like a South African soccer stadium.

Sam assumed the foetal position and passed out, was decorated in Raiders banners, then needed another spew. We stopped at a rest stop with actual toilets which was a nice change compared to the side of the road, next to a sheer rock-face where we has previously stopped. Also handy for someone on crutches, and females in general, as squatting proves difficult….

^Sam - Always spews on the left side of the bus!

We made it to Sutton Forrest Macca’s, where there were no cheeseburger challenges because it is after all, a family restaurant. And also because Marko wasn’t there. Some more chundering and we were ready to go. By this time it was about 9:00pm, there was no booze left and people were turning into major pests (KW). Sleeping was out of the question, as the Vuvuzela’s were out in force, as well as Slippery’s camera which has about a million flashes.

We finally made it back to Canberra about 10:30pm, an hour after the other bus, and everyone headed home with ringing ears and no voice.

Hope to see you all in Bay 72 this coming Monday, when the Raiders take on the Bulldogs at Fortress (?) Bruce.

GO RAIDERS!

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Cost of the trip is $55. Please note that this covers your travel to and from the game, as well as a few beers on the way home. It does NOT include your ticket to the match.

To reserve your seat please send an email to kw@raidersarmy.com to get the bank account details.

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A great performance by the boys on Sunday has seen us secure 6th spot. This means we will be heading to Toyota Stadium  on Saturday.

All bookings for the buses will be through Bernard at Countrylink. To secure your seat, call him on 62089703 ASAP. Cost will be $55 each.

In regards to tickets, Raiders Members can purchase tickets today, while the general public will have access from tomorrow.

Please ensure that you purchase general admission tickets, this is our safest bet to ensure that we can sit / stand together as a large congregation. I sent a scout to Shark Park on Saturday and he informs me that our biggest rivals, the CSSC, sit in Bay 15, so it looks like we will congregate somewhere near there!!!

The plan at this stage is for all buses to depart from Kingston Railway Station at 12pm. The under 20s Raiders will also be playing at Shark Park, and we will be getting there early to support the junior raiders.

Believe.

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Raiders Army legend Craig has informed me that he is planning a bus from Sydney to the Raiders last home game vs. the Bulldogs on round 26 (September 5-8).  If you are a Sydney-based Raiders fan this is the perfect opportunity to travel down with some fellow die-hard Raiders fans and cheer the boys at home for one last time in ‘08.  If you are interested in securing a seat for this trip or would like more info, email Craig here.

There are only 12 seats left so get in fast!

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Win or lose, you are always guarunteed a good time.

If you are interested in taking part or would like more information, please email Kenrick here.

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We said Bulldogs away was good, but Dragons Away would be epic. And we weren’t far from the truth. The Rugby League gods smiled on the Raiders on Sunday, as the green made amends for last years horrific loss at WIN Stadium.

The trip was an absolute disaster to organise to be honest. After plugging the game for the best party of a month, we had nearly 40 confirmed for the trip up. Disaster struck when Countrylink pulled our bus leaving us in the lurch big time. Apparently all the buses had been booked to go see some bloke captivate a large audience. We had booked a bus for the very same purpose. The pope may have a telephone line to god; but little does he know that it’s Alan Tongue on the other end!!

The contingency plan to crank out the mighty Lyneham High Bus was put into action, with the list of tourists drastically culled down to 21. Kudos to Ernie, Nick Tits and Matt for arrange their own convoys. Come Saturday morning, I was contacted to say we couldn’t have the old girl until 11, as opposed to 830. This simply wasn’t going to work so I rang and texted like a 14 year old schoolgirl until we decided on a new plan. Fortunately, some people were too hungover to come and happily pulled the pin. We ended up with 15 bodies in 2 tarago’s, and we were set.

A belated 930 departure from QBN Maccas saw the drivers test the Tarago’s to their limit. The passengers were more than happy with the beverages on hand, James Boags Premium, much better than our regular Tooheys New or Carlton Draught cans. Despite the fact that Marko had brought along a GPS, Eric still managed to miss the Wollongong turn off from Picton Road, and then another exit. Kathy took charge, overtaking the leader and showing the way to the Five Islands.

We arrived at the Brewery only 10 minutes late, a great effort considering how late we left. Upon arrival the now world famous Mark Weary wig was met with groans of disapproval. A hardy bunch was present, but probably only half the size we were hoping for. The crew were abuzz with nervous energy, and the Dapto Draught was flowing. Rupi and his northern Raiders made a special appearance, as did Windscreens and his crew of Tuggeranong Trouble Makers.

Michael and Soulsy debated Christianity and the Catholic Church, whilst Simon got caught up in a verbal war regarding the age old Northside-Southside argument. A few photos, a few more draughts and we were on to the hill to begin the onslaught. In what seems to be a recurring nightmare, the triangle flag was denied entry and the pole confiscated until after the match. This left us with 2 flags but no poles. Awesome. Thankfully Brendan’s modified flag and Wendy’s banners made it through.

Now, the Dragons Army has been talking themselves up all week, letting us know how superior they were in all facets. Well, didn’t they cop a schooling! The RA sang loud and proud all game and could be heard quite clearly on the telecast. The commentators made several mentions of the hardy souls in the army, and even predicted an enjoyable bus trip home. They weren’t wrong. A highlight on the hill was meeting the tut’s old man, whose miserly facial hair was no match for his sons (and the RA’s favourite) merkin.

Another special highlight on the hill was the 20 or so Yankee pilgrims who joined in the frivolity. These guys were in love with the Army, and I dare say seeing us in action would be far more memorable than listening to eggs Benedict. One of them, who had gone off early and purchased a dragon’s jersey prior to the game, entertained us all when he discarded the jersey and joined in! I’ll bet there was plenty of others in red and white whishing they could do the same thing.

As is custom, the players embraced the fans after the game, especially Campo who loves QBN and the QBN Crew to death. One fan commented on how much he had embraced us, when Aimee chimed in “well so he should, he is my fiancé”. The Duke was silently heart broken.

Back at the Brewery Ernie and his family made a guest appearance, whilst Steve, Tim and Griffo attempted to sort out how they would be getting home. The spare seat in the white tarago had already been promised to poor old Sean Ferrari aka Bay 53, whose car had been badly vandalised the night before in Cronulla. As it turned out, Tim made it home, somehow squeezing aboard, but as yet I haven’t heard from Steve or Griffo.

The bus ride home was first rate, I can only speak for the silver bullet tarago, but we were belting tunes out like there was no tomorrow. A solid effort in the DJ seat by Wendy kept us going all the way back to QBN. I can remember not remembering all the words to Bohemian Rhapsody, some cold chisel classics, Paul Kelly, the screaming jets and the theme for the trip, Mr Big’s “To Be with You”.

It was a memorable trip for young James “Zip Zip’ Watson who will now be known as Lazarus after his back from the dead performance. From the gong to Pheasants Nest, we were taking odds on when he would throw his guts. He was out cold and in a bad way. At the nest, he stumbled into the toilet block, and emerged a new man. He was back in the game in a massive way, belting out tunes and entertaining the other tourists. I must also mention that he nailed 10 from 10 in the Sunday Telegraph sports poll on the way up, we were all very impressed but James, get a missus mate, fair dinkum.

A big thankyou to Eric and Kathy who volunteered to drive. As most of you will agree, driving on RA away trips is never a popular option.

Next away trip will be to Souffs at ANZ Stadium in late August. Until then, I look forward to seeing everybody at the Lighthouse and Bay 72 over the coming weeks.

BELIEVE

KW

p.s. Photos of the Epic Trip can be view at our facebook page by following the link below.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=47824&id=612293464&page=2#/group.php?gid=31781589936

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Well, well, well. Bulldogs Away is always an eventful trip, but this one surely takes the cake. We had a famous Raiders victory, an Army performance un-matched for years, a plethora of A-list celebrity sightings, as well as a bloody fantastic time.

The trip started off slowly, with KW unable to locate Azz’s house in Calwell. A quick trip up the parkway (and past quite a nasty single vehicle accident) saw us at Kaleen to collect Don Juan de Marko. After nearly running the poor lad over, and copping the evil eye off old man Milinkovic (whose resemblance to Croation football coach Bilic didn’t go unnoticed) the lads were off up the Hume to create history.

Being the nice guy that he is, Marko knocked off a Sat Nav unit from his neighbours car the night before. This was used to great effect and saw us arrive in Kings Park just after midday. The person responsible for naming suburbs in Sydney must have a great sense of humour, as the only regal thing about that patch is the abandoned Donut King store. After a quick inspection of Nicks pad, and a few Brett Grogans, we were off.

After being asked by a local at the train station whether we were part of the Army reserves, the party of five were off to Homebush. It was at the Homebush Brewery that we had our first brush with celebrity. Whilst enjoying a few beverages, Canberra Identity / Raiders Board Member / all round good guy Jim Murphy dropped in for a chat. Though disappointed he didn’t have any free magnums of Passion Pop, the Army gave Jim the warm welcome he deserved. Little did we know, but in a few hours time the RA would be celebrities in their own right, being approached by punters for photo and autograph opportunities.

As shear luck would have it, a convention called “supernova” was being held in the Olympic Park precinct. We witnessed many a comic book nerd dressed to the nines run the gauntlet past the pub and its many critics. It was great to see long suffering Raiders fan Steve French aka Greeneyed in his best costume. He was dressed as some sort of gimp / clown / handy man, with his vaccum cleaner / whipper snipper in tow. He wouldn’t have looked out of place in the band Slipknot.

Our numbers grew thick and fast at the pub, with many Army regulars fronting up for battle. The QBN Crew arrived 90 minutes late, and missed happy hour when the ‘cheaps were drink’. After approximately 3 hours at the Brewery, the lads had sufficiently lubricated the throats and we were off. A few of us headed to the fictional gate D to collect some pre-bought tickets, and were rapped to see that Schapelle Corby was back in Oz and earning a decent living. Well in Schapers.

Preparing for kick-off I introduced myself to Finite and Buc Nasty, who I thought was someone’s alter ego but apparently not. I implored all the pundits who were spread out between the 2 supporter bays to congregate closer together, which 95% of them did and it made for a great gathering and looked very good on the telly. One keen observer noticed that Laurie Fischer was sitting in the bay next to us, on his Pat Malone (bar his wife).

The Bulldogs Harold Matthews and Jersey Flegg sides did a lap of honour for some reason, and provided a great oppurtuntiy for the lads to get the vocal chords in sync. A few minutes before kick off stadium security converged, but they were loving us. Obviously not Bulldogs fans, they were very happy with our numbers and noise, and seemed as though they wanted to join in. One of them in particular would have been a great addition to the Army, as he has a top voice. John Buttler’s band members must have dumped him, cause he was deadest working security at the stadium. Better than busking again I guess. We love you to John .

I won’t mention the game at all as we all know what happened there, but I must say the non-stop singing from the Army was something I had not seen or heard before. The show the players were putting on was more than matched in the stands. Kudos to all of you who were there, I think you will agree that an outstanding time was had by all.

Toward the end of the game, two Bulldogs supporters, obviously unhappy with the fact they spent there last lobster on tickets to the game, decided to have a red hot go at the Army. To our credit, we didn’t get involved and Stadium security ejected the pair before anything untoward occurred. Obviously not the brightest pair attempting to take on a 150 strong Army!

As we have become accustomed to, the players embraced the fans after the game, coming all the way to the fence to share the spoils of victory.

Upon exiting the ground, Sully thought it would be a top idea to head to the players sheds and cheer them on to the team bus. Obviously unaware that access to the sheds can only be gained by going under ground, he led us on a safari around the perimeter of the stadium. After being heavily shadowed by the fuzz, we took the opportunity to have a group shot with the boys in blue behind us. Some of them were not impressed.

As we made our way back to the Brewery, we once again saw ex-Brumbies coach Laurie Fischer, whose stalking of the Raiders / Army is becoming quite disturbing. If you want in Laurie, just come sit with us buddy! Not sure if he was ecstatic when someone mentioned in passing how great it was to see a team from Canberra finally win.

Upon arriving back at the pub, we were cordially advised to pipe down, as our singing was drowning out the live band. After a few at the Brewery, and listening to The Gambler on repeat, we posed for photos with starry eyed punters, and then said our good byes. Back at Nicks place, he entertained us with stories, such as his and Katie’s first date, where he took her out to the local servo and bought her a meat pie. Who said romance is dead?

Trying to get a pizza at half midnight proved to be a struggle, as did getting Azz to share his BBQ meat lovers. After Peter Garrett and his mob had done a runner, Marko was the first to crash. Why he decided to squash himself into the spare room around an unused desk I will never know.

Just when we thought the night was over, Tom received a call from Rupi, a Sydney based RA member who was looking for a party. Ten minutes later he arrived to find everyone asleep bar Tom and KW. By this stage, my brain wasn’t functioning too well, but I do recall him talking about a nightclub near Wynyard where you need to wear a suit to get in, as well as the fact he had a soccer game on at 9am.

Next official Raiders Army trip is via bus to Wollongong, where we meet the Dragons. Any and all interested in attending this game should drop me an email or keep your eye on the GreenHouse forum.

BELIEVE

KW

* On another note we are currently have some trouble uploading photos to this site. We do however have a facebook group where we try to upload photos on a regualar basis. To view these photos simply join our facebook group by visiting the Link Below.

Raiders Army Facebook Group

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The Brewery is the pub to your left as your walking to the stadium from Olympic Park station (Underneath the Novotel).
If you can’t make the Brewery but want to sit with us at the ground Purchase Tickets in the opposition supporters Section.

See ya There

RA

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The bus trip on the way up will be alcohol free and some beer will be permitted for the trip home.

The cost of the trip will be $55 plus match day ticket.

Anyone that is interested in coming should contact KW via email at kw@raidersarmy.com.

Take care,

Raiders Army.

p.s. The Roosters Away trip is one of the most fun to do, if you can only make 1 away game this year make it this one. The SFS is a great sporting venue that really holds a good atmopshere.

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If you are ever unsure about where we will be at away games simply email us or visit the grounds section on this webiste.

Take care people,

Cya at the Ground.

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