Canberra Raiders Latest

Dragons coach Shane Flanagan faces pressure after nine consecutive losses, while a nearby team also struggles with similar performance issues.

Zero Tackle

You don't have to look too far to see the pressure being applied to Dragons coach Shane Flanagan. All we keep hearing about is that the Dragons have lost nine games in a row, including four at the end of last season.

But eight kilometres away from where the Cowboys slayed the Dragons in Kogarah, there's a team that have lost eight of their last twelve.

Of the two matches they won at the end of last season, one was against a Warriors side that were starting to fizzle out in round 23, the other, against a Penrith side that had rested most of their top liners ahead of the finals. Indeed, when they met three weeks later, the mountain men got their revenge.

Of the two won in 2026, they have scraped home against the Dragons in Golden Point, and just beat the Raiders. Yes, the same Dragons that are at the bottom of the ladder without a win and the same Raiders who sit just above the Dragons in the standings.

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Xavier Savage will miss a month due to a syndesmosis injury but avoids surgery after a recent game.

Zero Tackle

Canberra Raiders winger Xavier Savage will avoid surgery, but is still set to miss the next month of action after suffering a syndesmosis injury.

The flyer, who has scored three tries in five games to date in 2026, suffered the injury during Sunday afternoon's loss to the Newcastle Knights at McDonald Jones Stadium.

The Raiders, who have lost four of their first five this season as they attempt to back up last year's minor premiership, will now need to turn things around without Savage.

The Canberra Times are reporting that after scans taken this week it has been determined he will avoid surgery, but will need to spend about a month on the sidelines.

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Perth Bears football boss David Sharpe's future is uncertain amid staff concerns and a board meeting to discuss his performance.

The Australian

The future of Perth Bears football boss David Sharpe will be discussed at a board meeting on Friday amid concerns about his performance and a fallout with staff, including chief executive Anthony De Ceglie.

A former Australian Federal Police assistant commissioner and head of Sports Integrity Australia, Sharpe's appointment in August last year was hailed as a coup for the NRL's 18th franchise.

He was given the critical role of general manager of football on the insistence of inaugural coach Mal Meninga, who has a longstanding relationship with Sharpe from their playing days at the Canberra Raiders. "I trust him explicitly [sic]," Meninga told SEN Radio at the time.

Since starting in September, however, Sharpe has lost the support of Bears staff, who have become disgruntled with his aggressive style and negativity.

He has also alienated North Sydney, the foundation club with whom Perth was forced to partner as a condition of their entry into the NRL in 2027.

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