The following is from the Raiders Website.

Do you want to be a part of the new Green Bay 72?

Rugby League commentators have referred to our fans as “the most passionate in the game” and without doubt the most visual and vocal group of fans on a game day at Canberra Stadium sit in Bay 72.

The Raiders, with support from the Raiders Army* are encouraging all fans to consider sitting in the new Green Bay 72.

We would love to make this area as ‘infamous’ as the SCG Hill or Bay 13 at the MCG and we are sure that visiting teams will try to avoid, where possible, the South Eastern corner of Canberra Stadium!

‘Green Bay 72’ has a limited number of seats and as an incentive to make this area more visual and vocal than it currently is, the Club will provide an additional ‘Exclusive Bay 72 Item’ to those members
that sign up in this area.

Enhance your game day experience by getting amongst “the most passionate fans in the game”

‘Green Bay 72’ - take your support to the next level

Green Bay Inclusions:

• Exclusive 2009 membership card for all 12 home games
  .
• 2009 Membership Kit (see below)
  .
• Members Benefits
  .
• Preferential access to NRL Finals and Grand Final tickets

Members Benefits:

• 10% discount on Raiders merchandise purchased through www.raiders.com.au or Jerseys for Work and Play, Brand Depot (Canberra)
  .
• Invite to members only ‘Pre-Season BBQ with the Team’ at Raiders HQ
  .
• Raiders ‘Green-Eyed’ photo. (NB: Taken at Pre-Season BBQ with the Team - featuring all available Club players/coaches, sponsors and members)
  .
• Exclusive members only discounts from Raiders corporate partners
  .
• Automatic subscription to the Raiders weekly on-line newsletter
  .
• Log in and access to members only section of www.raiders.com.au for all the latest and inside news
  .
• Access to members only activities and events at all 2009 home games
  .
• Discount on membership for future seasons

——————————————————————————–

The club has set a goal to reach 5000 Members by Kick off 2009. It would be a great show of support if we could pack out bay 72 and make up a decent chunk of the 5000.

To renew/sign up for the new Green Bay 72 Membership simply visit www.raiders.com.au.

Hope to see you all there next season.

Cheers,

Marko

Before I start the Review of the Cronulla match, I think it is very important to take a moment to step back and look at how proud of the Raiders everyone should be.
At the start of the year we started as wooden spoon favourites (shock horror). Not only did we avoid the spoon, but we managed to finish in 6th position and end up with the 2nd best attack in the league, we finished with the 2nd best home record in the league, only behind the grapple kings. A remarkable performance when we were ‘meant’ to struggle to win any games this year.

Now had we achieved 6th position with a full roster it would be an achievement to be proud of.. But we didn’t have a full roster for most of the year, Round 2- Zillman-> out for the year, Round 3-> Phil Graham out for the year, a few rounds later and we lose Lincoln Withers.. The injuries after that were consistent, rarely did we have the same side named two weeks in a row. We did manage this in the later rounds, but this was due to only having 17 players available.

By the time round 26 came along we were down to our 5th halfback option.. This side has a unique attribute to it, they don’t let anything get to them.. For one reason or another when a player was lost to the side, someone else would step in and do their job. This side will always have a dig regardless, and I think that is shown by the fact we were never blown off the park during the regular season. Even the 34-6 Brisbane loss was a lot closer that the scoreline suggested, and had a few things gone our way who knows what could have happened.

Anyway I could write all night about how proud everyone should be of the side, but words don’t do it justice. Strap yourself in for a big 2009 season..

Now to the review..

The day started off with an 11:45am meet up at the World Class facility that is the Canberra Railway station. The mood was buzzing, everyone looked pumped, there was a big turn out and KW decided to celebrate visiting Hick Town by bringing a giant straw hat. All the other regulars all turned up on time, including one of our fearless leaders who decided to extend on his image by turning up dressed as a Wisla Krakow Firm Leader.

Everyone congregated and stood back as the first big coach with toilet facilities rocked up, now the Raiders Army Assume this would be our bus, after all we had been promised a toilet… To our surprise none of our names were read out to board the bus, not to worry, I’m sure the next coach would have a toilet on board as well. After a short wait we spotted a school bus emblazoned with pink ribbons lumber in.. Surely this wasn’t our bus? Yep it was. The 57 seater was smaller than the first coach yet.

As some RA members secured some seats in the bus we realized that we had been handed the wrong bus.. This slice of bad luck was sadly an omen for what would follow throughout the day..

The trip up was fairly restrained, maybe it was to do with the fact we had our no alcohol policy in place. Now while this policy wasn’t anything new, the fact we were on a school bus with pink ribbons meant people were quite subdued. One RA member commented that the bus had a scent of gay to it.

Anyway the show had to roll in so we arrived at the Macca’s stop off point to wait 20 minutes in line to get a feed. Sadly a certain member of Raiders HQ turned down the enticing offer to shout the traveling supporters lunch. We still think it should have been put on the Raiders Credit Card and written off as a business expense.

With everyone fueled up me and KW went to get some ice so we could ensure the beverages would be at an adequate drinking temperature to this trip home. Just like the Raiders have been all season, the Raiders Army got screwed by the officials when we were controversially charged $12.75 for Ice only to go around to collect it from the Ice box and find “ICE 3 for $10” deal signs plastered all over it.. We would have the last laugh though.

So the bus rolled on and the fleet decided to take the shock option of having a detour of Wollongong. Had this happened a few months back we may have had a better time finding the place when our fleet or toragos did the LOSE stadium tour..

The Crossing of the bridge into the ‘Shire’ saw an immediate change of scenery, for the contingent who grew up in beautiful Canberra it was a reminded to just how lucky we were. Anyway I won’t bag the Shire too much as it has all been done before. I will say that I was impressed that the amount of Confederates flags and rocking chairs on porches had fallen 10%. Strangely enough migration of the locals to Texas increased by the same figure, read into that what you want.

As we streamed off our bus the first thing to hit us was the heat. We had left Canberra in pleasant 20 odd degree heat, which was the hottest we have had in months. Sydney was 30 and you felt it.

But there was no time for turf wars on the Cronulla beach, we had an Under 20’s side to support..

Now Toyota “stadium” has recently acquired it’s new name by building a southern Grandstand. Now from the outside it looked fairly decent, so it was a bit of a shock when entered through the “Totyota Aurion Turnstile” to find that the seating capacity is less than the bleachers on University of Canberra oval #4. Maybe I am being too harsh, Cronulla are all about the investment, if they were to sell out the Grand Stand every home game for 41 years it will pay for itself! You see this the benefit of long term planning, when you have won nothing in 41 years you don’t have to consider financial windfalls a Premiership Trophy Brings (Now that I have said this watch the sharks win the GF…)

I must say through, the new stand takes your attention away from the Family Hill. Which has a large Power line tower smack bang in the middle of it. Then again a bit of radiation never hurt anyone, right? The people of Cronulla are all model citizens aren’t they? Look I know they say it is healthy for kids to play in dirt, but I just can not conform to this idea of early exposure to radiation, the effects on the brain can turn them into someone that would vote Republican in the US election… (not that there is anything wrong with that, the Raiders Army holds no political affiliation either here or overseas).

Anyway, after admiring the beautiful ground we went over to set up camp on the South Western Hill. I must say, it is great to see the female % of the Raiders Army crack that magical 5% banner, we had a good turn out of the female demographic and it was good to see many looking stunning in their lime green.

It’s always good to catch up with the inter-state folk, it is a shame we don’t do it more often. This year has seen the Army really expand and from that a great group of people has been established.

So the job was to now focus on getting the Under 20’s over the line, this was only interrupted for the mountain walking expeditions to the bar/food facilities, at this point I regretted not bring my tent so I could set up camp for the night and attempt to reach the bar at dawn. Not to worry though, I’m sure the next upgrade will include having facilities that aren’t behind the “Grandstand”

The Under 20’s (like all 3 Grades) has been a shining light this year, they finished on top of the table and face the 8th placed Gold Coast Titans. It was with some surprise when the Titans scored the second try to race to a 12-0 lead. Was the side switched on today? Did they think this was a training run because they were at a location that was the 1976 version of Seiffert oval? Whatever it was the side needed to dig in and respond, and they did it in style. The side that had piled on points all year put on a stunning last hour of the game by piling on 8 unanswered tries on their way to a 43-12 win. I think they may have been stunned to see such a large turnout of the Raiders Army. Sadly we are only able to catch the end of their game (if that) when they play at Bruce due to contractual obligations. If any of you boys are reading this, just remember that we love you all, and should you blokes advance to the GF in the first Weekend of October you might see a pocket of green in the ground. It really has been a stunning performance by the Toyota cup side this year, runaway Minor Premiership winners and now one game from playing in the inaugural Toyota Cup Grand Final.

By about 6pm there was a massive turnout for the Raiders Army on the hill. Only sad thing was we weren’t at a real stadium where the sound can bounce off walls, being in an open field makes it very hard to get the noise to travel across the ground. If only this match was at the SFS we would have packed out two bays and the atmosphere would have been rocking. But we would have to make do with the swamp in which we were located in (ironically a swamp would later make an appearance).

For pre-match entertainment we were given the pleasure of listening to the great Shannon Noll. I’d tell you what he sung but I can’t be sure due to the loud chants of “Who Are Ya” when he got on started up, even when there was no heckling it was very hard to make out what was being said through the speakers on poles which double up as a P.A System.

By now the crowd was pumped (angry?) and Radiation Hill was packed to the rafters (which can be seen on ch:7- I better get some cash for that plug). While high up in the grand stand Greg Bird was sitting their with his manager as they enjoyed some Pure Blondes (a.k.a Replica of Exhibit A). You are going to need more than Low Carbs to use in your court case you sludge bucket.

The Boys ran out and we continued our tradition at way games of making a complete mess with confetti… Which looked far more awesome than the CSSC and their cr@ppy thundersticks (WTF???). We truly ARE the greatest supporters in the league.

The first set was action packed as the sharks passed the ball more than two passes wide for the first time since round 19, 2007. This resulted in our leading try scorer Adrian Purtell coming so close to nabbing an intercept and the dream start. Sadly that piece of bad luck seemed to be a sign of things to come.. Not long in and Colin Best drops a ball as the sharks score off a kick (shock horror) it’s sad to see a start like that, Best has been.. well.. one of our best all year we are really going to miss that bloke and the RA wishes him all the best at South Sydney.

Our side seems to be very nervous, and who can blame them, This is a very young side who are getting their first taste of finals footy. The sharks then go on to score another try and lead 10-0.

Midway through the half and the turning point, Campese’s ball is deemed as forward and a possible 10-6 scoreline became 14-0. It was a kick in the teeth for the boys who had fought so valiantly to get back into the match. I think the call just sums up our year though, still at half time there is still hope, if we can score first we are right back in it and score first we did. After all in the second half the side will be running to the “completed stadium” end and where the RA are located, we came back from worse then this vs Souths, the belief is still there, after all we are the group who have “BELIEVE” Printed on our back..

The second half starts and we score first, the belief is back. I won’t talk about the 2nd half too much as we all know what happened.. I was just silent at times and that silence was only interrupted by calls over the PA system aksing if people can return missing children to the ET Stand.. Quality Ground, Quality Facilities, Quality Shire Parenting. In a nutshell the 2nd half was just a case of things sadly just do not sticking as the Sharks race to a 24-4 lead with 15 on the clock.. With 12 to go the Raiders grab a converted try to bring the margin back to 14, our hope is soon evaporated though as the sharks put on a couple of tries at the end of the match to run out 36-10 winners. As the team goes around the congratulate the fans we start up the chant “We’re Proud Of You” which we are, this side has battled enormous odds to reach 6th spot and I just hope the chants travelled far enough for them to hear it, they deserve the acknowledgement..

After full time we seemed to hang around the ground for a while, maybe it was to say goodbye to some people we might not see for 5 months, maybe it is to just soak it all in and reflect on what happened that night, maybe we did because we found the site of Cronulla locals invading a pitch 20 minutes after full time and getting run down by cops hilarious… I really don’t know.

Eventually we all slowly piled onto the bus, and cracked a beverage to start reflecting on the great season we have had. I had a mate keeping me up to date with the score in the Dragons game, sadly this would all mean nothing 24 hours later..

The trip home started off pretty subdued as we all exited the suburbs. I guess a lot of people just needed some time to sit back and reflect.. It had been a long year and the Army had experienced a few road trips this year and they can those trips can be exhausting.

When the bus finally entered the highway the mood lifted, a few old classics came out and well as some new songs. Now normally our bus is pretty much all RA members so they easily understand the songs, I can only imagine what was going through those minds of those people (including kids) up the front when the Marko’s Bohemian Rhapsody was brought out… I’m guessing a combination of confusion and well confusion…

Unfortunately due to the lack of facilities on the bus ‘pit stops’ were required. The first one went my without a hiccup. However the second one saw an unnamed member of the RA lose a shoe after having it sucked off by a Toyota Stadium like swamp on the side of the road. With the almost pitch blackness and a tight schedule meant a Ben Taylor like search party could not be organised, the shoe was soon joined by its other half as this Member decided to reunite them by throwing it in the general direction of the first shoe. If anyone finds a pair of green shoes on a highway approximately 20 minutes outside Sutton Forest it would be much appreciated if you could send them onto the Raiders Army. Just sent them in a box care of Raiders HQ and they will pass it onto us. Whilst on shoes, RA QBN branch Leader KW had a pair of shoes and 1 sock taken off him as he climbed over a bunch of people to get to his seat. The shoes were appropriately thrown down the aisle along with 1 sock. Now the shoes have been recovered, but unfortunately a dirty sock is lurking somewhere in the bus. If Dean’s Bus Line is reading this you might want to do a sweep off the pink ribbon bus. Dirty socks and rising temperatures are not a good mix..

As we all laughed about the loss of the shoes we came into Sutton Forrest Macca’s. Marc Herbert and some Raiders Staff members were also there. The Herb said he would be right to go, sadly there will be no match for him to be fit for next week. It’s a shame, he was looking like a class halfback in the chances he got on the field, could have really used him on Saturday Night.

After a refuel at Macca’s the QBN crew went to get some bags of ice at the same place that had earlier duped us. In great RA style they returned with 3 bags of ice plus a padlock.. The ice was put to good use, but sadly me and Aimee couldn’t think of a use for the padlock, ideas like throwing it at someone and locking some seat-belts were made redundant when we stopped back and considered:

a) Injuries that could be possibly sustained

b) there was a CCTV Camera.

As the songs and drinks continued to flow a couple us noticed some flashed of lightning as we passed Goulburn, at first we though we were both insane. But it soon came clear that there was a big storm on the horizon, for a few minutes we thought about how this could be a result of the Hadron Collider in Switzerland and that black hole was developing that would suck us all up. The sound of Hail on our escape hatch on intensified these fears..

The site of Canberra Airport was a good one, it meant we were nearly home.. We all exited the bus as some piled onto awaiting rides home while others waited for taxi cab.. 15 minutes went by and there was only a handful of the 140 travelers left. The rain continued to fall as I had incredible difficulties trying to book a cab, damn voice recognition system.. My English is fine.. Fortunately another North Side inhabitant offered to split a cab he had already booked. As I handed over a Sutton Souvenir to Paul we went into the cab and were on our way home.

A certain Wollongong resident may or may not have received a phone call at 1:45 am which consisted of his mainly listening to random conversations/arguments. He loved it though and even got to hear a nice scream as the cab drove through a massive puddle.. The rest of the ride went smoothly as I exited the cab and thanked our great cabbie , he had to put up with a some random stuff.

With the Warriors pulling off the upset, everyone dealt with the fact we were out of the comp a different way. A few people headed to all bar and spent a few hours looking back on the season with Dally M lock and captain of the year and the fearless Josh Miller. I think us Raiders Fans are very fortunate in that fact the players have a lot of time for the fans, the Raiders really are a club for the people.

So that’s it I guess, I apologise for you having to read a review by the RA’s 4th string writer, but our rotation system meant it was my turn.

Lastly I will give a quick reminder that the Raiders Army will be holding a end of season meet up on Saturday the 27th of September at the lighthouse, we extend the invite to everyone to join us so we can reflect back on the brilliant season we just had. The festivities will kick off at around lunch time, Further information on this can be obtained by emailing kw@raidersarmy.com.

If you can’t make this event then make sure you enjoy the off season , I will see you all again in 2009.

BELIEVE!

- Marko

Tickets are selling very fast for the Cronulla semi final, if you have not purchased your tickets yet you should try get them A.S.A.P as there is a possibility of a sell out.

The Raiders Army have all purchased General Admission tickets, but after some discussions we have decided that we will be standing in the SOUTH WESTERN corner of the ground, this is the area in front of the Southern Grandstand. It is also at the end of the ground where the turnstiles are located.

We will be at the ground in time for the Toyota Cup Match so everyone should be able to see us as soon as they walk into the ground.

We encourage all Raiders fans to come join us in this section of the ground.

Spread the word to everyone you know that is going. We are endeavoring to  get the biggest section of Green Possible all together to try help get the boys over the line.

Hope to see many of you there.

-Raiders Army.

Raiders Army Review: Bulldogs Away 07/09/08.

Many epic tales have been told from the faithful Canberra Raiders Army who travels the Hume Highway - week in, week out. The first Sydney Raiders Army bus did not disappoint.

The fun police had been all over the bus trip prior to commencement and with a strict departure time of 8:45am SHARP we had 100% attendance at Hungry Jacks at 8:30am and this was an opportunity to put some names to some familiar faces.

With a solid group congregated at Central on a Sunday morning you are always going to attract a muppet or two and ‘OZ BLOTTO’ provided some early entertainment. After pleading to get on the bus I told him that it would be $100 return and he was deadest keen. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, knowing the standard of the bathroom amenities on the bus I wish we would have let him on as this would have provided as much entertainment on the way down as on the way back with the missing elephant washers’ son.

Huge shout out to Russell the love mussel who made the trek from North Queensland for the game and found out about the bus via the club – super effort you twit!

I had seconded Super Jed for a reason! I thought being a scheduling manager at Foxtel he would have the skill set to organize the bus – Whilst waiting for the bus after 20 minutes a lone voice from the crowd cries “Jed do you have the bus company’s contact number?” and with that Super Jed was off, doing hot laps looking for the bus due to not bringing any details. Note: I also did not possess any contact information – WE WERE ON FIRE.

The bus arrived and the driver: “no names” starting the old comedy routine and after he ended the first chant of the day was had – “Normal service, normal service, normal service is resumed”. With free pizza mentioned, “no names” gave the bus some curry and we where under way.

Soulsy the rocket scientist of the group came up with a brilliant idea on the way down – “lets create some songs”, The lights came on and bingo ringo Soulsy had it! never mind “We are the Army…” or “Everywhere we go…” he had it: “I am the music man, I come from Sydney way…” - Twit number 2 of the trip was found. With that he copped it there and back!

We hit the Lightly in around 3 hrs travel time including a stop for Pooley to check the WA election results whilst 69 checked his erection results.

The Lighty never disappoints and with the joining of the RA we all injected some funds over the bar which was great. These guys have supported us well all year – be sure to dive in on super Saturday and support your own.

Bay 72 came alight with the usual “Grade A” cut up – well done Matty.

With hearts in our mouths we saw an up and down encounter which still defies me as to: how you score 52 points and win by 18 when you need 17+? & Hassem missing 5 goals.

The train Monnas saved the day with an assault which saw us marching into 6^th and an encounter with the Sharks – “stand up if you’ve won the league”

Butters lead us in some sing songs on the way out with our new folk song “We are the Sydney boys, Stand up and make some noise!”

Upon pilling on the bus many tales could be told. What happens on tour should always stay on tour but this is just too good.

With emotions running high knowing we defied all the odds and made 6^th, the centuries old running rivalry came into play – Right side vs. Left side.

With many discussions throughout the day of Marko being the cult figure a new contender emerged.

After a stop at Goulburn McDonald’s to recharge we all pilled on the bus to push on, all except one. Search parties scoured high and low and a decision was made to call off all searches when the bus driver advised overtime rates.

Worried for Ben’s fate many scenarios where played out and many chants came about. The bus came to life with Ben’s departure and the next two hours consisted of txt messages from Ben looking for the bus and chants of “on his own, on his own, on this own…”, “Always look on the highway for Ben…” and my favourite “Your dad washes elephants…” just to name a few.

With a show down of Raiders tattoos, I challenge any Canberra Raiders Army member (KW?) to front up with more than 5 tattoo’s on the one body. This person shall remain nameless – He does however sport a MOHAWK.

With the toilet at capacity and the threat of overflow reaching the coach floors from Goulburn onwards many accused 69 of following on, and thinking he was in his Penriff slums!

In summary we had a super day and I thank all who made this trip what it was. We laughed, we cried – we thought young Ben had died.

BELIEVE

Sully.

p.s. Photos of the Epic Trip will be uploaded onto Facebook.

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.

The day started bright and early with a 8am departure from Civic. There looked to be a few rough and weary travellers, however that was to be expected as more than half the RA never even knew that there was an 8am on Sunday. No sooner were we down the road and the entertainment begun. KW pulled out the family nest egg, a game transferred from Beta cassette to some fancy DVD format featuring the mighty Raiders beating Souths at Seiffert Oval in 1989. The only other possibility is that it actually came with the bus. We discussed the ex players, in between loving and debating the rules and calling out ‘Go to the video’ after the tries. By half time I had recycled that Dad’s joke no less than 4 times. These discussions about the game were only cut short for the odd rendition of ‘Nothin’s sweet about Marko’. Meninga might have been the cult figure on the screen, but look no further than Marko in 2008. He’d get plenty more songs later on too.

Next was the mandatory breakfast stop at Macca’s. Eric Wu, our resident photographer extraordinaire, led the charge in terms of picking off their healthy choices menu by devouring a large chocolate sundae before 10am. Back on the bus and it was a replay of last week’s match against the Knights to keep us all happy and in high spirits.

We arrived at the stadium in no time and set off for the pre game meet up at the pub with the local Raiders fans. Upon arrival it seemed like a Raiders home game with mainly Raiders fans paying for beers that had rent built into the price. There was also a BBQ outside selling sausage sandwiches for $5 a pop! I heard a few comments that they cost an arm and a leg. After seeing a photo on KW’s phone, some poor bugger lost more than that unfortunately. Someone said it was a discarded snag but I’ll never be convinced. Many of us glumly watched the under 20’s on the tele as they went down to Souths in a rare defeat. Soulsy (who clearly should have been on the complementary water’s at the introductory price of $3 a glass) was trying to raise money for a shout by selling his band’s new CD, there weren’t enough Marko songs for my liking. An RA song or two later led by the Ultra, and it was off to the ground for kick off. I was later informed that there was much debate at the pub whether Toby was going to get a long sharp object into the ground. Had it not been attached to his toe, some say he would have been denied.

I arrived at the bay to find a sea of green. There were numerous Raiders supporters behind also. There was a sense of carnival atmosphere as we waited for Tonguey to lead the boys out. As soon as they came out the Raiders fans came to life and you could hear the noise for the Raiders echoing around ANZ Stadium. Once again you’d have thought it was a Raiders home game.

Early in the first half we kicked deep to the corner and Souths tried to play out from the back. Purts took an intercept and went over to a roar from the Raiders end, only beaten in decibels by the sight on the big screen of the Gladiator himself, Rusty Crowe, burying his head in his hands….‘Stick that in your comic book of feuds big boy!’ I yelled. Then Souths came back into it. The Raiders fans rallied behind the boys but they just seemed flat. The noise and songs kept flowing though, right till halftime when Sandow appeared to break our backs with a field goal. 19-6 at half time, I had a feeling it wasn’t to be the Raiders day. Little did I know….

Second half. ‘The Nose’ runs a top line, regathers a Campo kick to start the scoring within minutes of kick off. Great start. Next Besty streaks down the left using that right hand fend like a weapon and goes over. Souths fans must have been unsure whether to be happy or sad after seeing it. I’d advise them to be very pleased. The Raiders Army were getting right behind the boys now and Souths fans were deathly silent. Raiders songs are echoing around the ground. Purts then gets a second right in front of the Raiders fans to put us in front….Here we go, here we go! Now Kelly joins in on the act and takes another intercept to score. The Raiders are flying. 28-19 and the fans can pretty much see the finals in their sights as they try get louder. Next captain courageous Tonguey busts straight though and passes to Milney who sprints away untouched and scores under the sticks. The scenes in Bay 112 are wild. It looks more like a mosh pit in there than a football match. Next up it is time for Mona’s to join in, Raiders 40-19 with 11 to play. We’re home now and the Raiders fans are going mental. The final stages of the match are more of a celebration for the Raiders Army and the fans, as we realise that against all the hurdles this season, finals are all but guaranteed. A few of us gave the Gladiator a wave and changed a few words of Green Day to ‘We’ll wake you up when September ends’. I wonder if that will make the book…..

The atmosphere in those final 10 minutes and after the match until we left the stadium was amazing, even then there were songs all the way to the bus. I’ve been part of some great Raiders moments in the Army but I can’t think of anything to rival that so far. It was brilliant. The celebrations and unity between Raiders fans was magic. At full time the players came over to a wonderful reception, it was almost like a party. I’ve since heard that on the radio commentary they were amazed at the sight of a 50 metre line of Raiders fans 5 deep up against the fence to praise their heroes. Full credit to everyone involved. That would have been a special moment for the players as well as the fans, it won’t be forgotten by either in a very long time I imagine.

The Canberra contingent then gathered at the bus and a group photo was taken. The fun police then made a brief speech about having a few celebration beers on the bus responsibly, some people are just too straight I say! No sooner was the bus heading along the M4 and there were songs being belted out in jubilation. The QBN crew have really taken to ‘We’re gonna win the league’. I reckon they’d only like it more with a reference to Marko! The queue for the toilet began. As the trip went on, the celebration songs were coming thick and fast. They were only interrupted for the left side and the right side to have a battle of songs. For only the 2nd time in RA history, Raiders Alouette came out for a run. What an interesting tune that is….might need some work before its next rendition. The toilet queue got longer. I met a fan called ‘That boy’ Reinaldo who I’d never seen on the bus previously and we had a chat about supporter groups and how they run in his native Chile. Marko and I then proceeded to sing a song about Reinaldo lifted straight from Manchester United, but instead of playing on the left and right, he sings for the left and right. I feel this song could really take off in the future….

We stopped off for dinner at the trusty Macca’s again and gave the driver time to empty a certain tank towards the back of the bus which was close to overflowing. Mr Boags had a lot to answer for. Inside Maccas, I saw a familiar walk as a man in a hood approached the counter trying to conceal his face. It was none other than our flying fullback in marvellous form, Milney. He looked over and I gave him the mandatory fist pump to signify the win, and got one back. I doubt he was ordering off the Eric Wu menu. Then it was the final leg home in what was a great day. Wendy provided some Aussie music classics and everyone sang along as loud as they could, all the while making sure they snuck the word ‘Marko’ in at every given chance. A personal favourite was ‘I kissed Marko and I liked it, hope my girlfriend don’t mind it’. This information further confirms that there is nothin sweet about the man in question. The songs continued all the way back to the bus station to round off probably the best Raiders Army trip I’ve ever been on. Its days like Sunday which make all the hard effort and organising worth it. Simon and I celebrated that fact a little more at the now infamous All Bar Nun. We reflected on how in 2004 we sometimes had less than 10 people in the Raiders Army, singing songs and getting looked at like madmen. Why bother? Now we knew why. It has come a long way and a lot of people should be congratulated. You all make it what it is and now we are right up there with Cronulla as the best supporters group in the league.

So now we have 2 weeks of the regular season left and then finals. It is time to keep going and getting behind the team, and ensuring they have the kind of support they got on Sunday. If they do, we’ll know we’ve done everything we could of to get them over the line. It’s been such a good year and it hasn’t ended yet.

This Saturday the plan for people in Canberra is to meet up at the Lighty to watch the NQ game. The more people that attend, the better. They’ve been a really good sponsor this season, please try to support them.

Finally to the Bulldogs game the following Sunday. I have a feeling this will be the biggest and best Bay 72 Raiders Army turn out ever. The mighty Craig and ever reliable Jed have organised a coach from Sydney so we have plenty of numbers to join the cause. It will be a celebration. Bring your voice and as many Raiders fans as you can to Bay 72 and lets send the boys to the finals in style. If you can make the Lighty before the game, even better.

Its been awesome but it’s not over yet.

Believe.

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!

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.

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

To buy one, simply follow the Link Below.

http://www.jerseys.com.au/prod331.htm

Believe,

Raiders Army.