Ricky Stuart's underdog Raiders show inconsistency, but still manage tough wins and shocking losses.
It set the scene for a Ricky Stuart inspired backs to the wall performance, where everyone had written them off as a contender for another final's appearance.
Canberra got off to a solid start where they were able to right the wrongs of their 2023 semi-final exit in Newcastle by defeating the Knights in Round 1 and then making it two from two against the Tigers at GIO Stadium. From there it was a rollercoaster of results for the Milk, with back-to-back losses followed by an impressive 41-8 thrashing of Parramatta at home in Round 5.
The tables then turned in Round 8 when the Sharks put on forty unanswered points, and it became extremely hard to pick which Raiders side were going to turn up each week. In between those inconsistent scorelines, the Raiders lost halfback Jamal Fogarty for three months with a bicep injury. Despite the loss of their most experienced half, Canberra did respond with some gritty on the road wins over Manly, Canterbury and the Dolphins which saw veteran Jordan Rapana kick a dramatic golden point field goal to seal victory in Round 13. As gutsy as those wins were, shocking losses to the Cowboys (twice) and the Tigers while conceding over thirty points were just inexcusable.