Canberra Raiders News

Mon, 27th July, 2026, 6:54 AEST
Perth Bears have sights on young Sharks half
Perth Bears are pursuing Sharks halfback Niwhai Puru while also targeting Junior Paulo and Morgan Smithies for 2027.
Zero Tackle
The Perth Bears' recruitment machine shows no sign of slowing down, with the club's search for playmaking depth throwing up a surprise new target in Cronulla Sharks back-up Niwhai Puru.
At the moment, the Bears' priority has been trying to persuade Junior Paulo from the Parramatta Eels and Morgan Smithies from the Canberra Raiders to join the NRL's 18th team.
The Daily Telegraph reported on Saturday that Mal Meninga and the Bears have quietly begun their pursuit of the 24-year-old Sharks halfback to Western Australia for the Bears' first season in 2027.
Puru currently sits behind Braydon Trindall and Nicho Hynes on the depth chart in Cronulla.
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Mon, 27th July, 2026, 5:02 AEST
Luke Bateman earned $400K a year and gambled away every cent
Luke Bateman earned $400K yearly but lost it all to gambling, leading to missing items at home.
ABC Sport
During his darkest chapter, things would go missing from Luke Bateman's apartment.
"My partner would come home from work and be like, 'Where's this?'
"I would've taken it to Cash Converters and sold it for cash so I could go and gamble," the former NRL player-turned-fantasy writer tells Australian Story.
It was 2019, and Bateman was at the height of a debilitating gambling addiction so severe he couldn't afford to feed himself. He was a professional NRL player with the Canberra Raiders at the time, earning $400,000 a year.
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Sun, 26th July, 2026, 16:24 AEST
Canberra Stadium stench returns after trouncing Tigers, as Raider faces ban
The Canberra Stadium's foul sewage smell returned after the Raiders' win, echoing previous incidents and calls for stadium upgrades.
The Canberra Times
The infamous Canberra Stadium stink is back.
In the aftermath of the Raiders' stunning 56-10 victory over Wests Tigers on Saturday afternoon, there was a familiar foul stench wafting through the tunnel outside the change rooms.
Described by multiple sources as "smelling like a filthy public toilet", it's not the first time sewage stink has caused problems in the bowels of Canberra Stadium.
In 2024 - also after a win over the Wests Tigers - Raiders coach Ricky Stuart called out the rotten eggs smell as yet another reason that Canberra desperately needed an updated stadium.
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