Canberra Raiders News

Thu, 1st October, 2026, 3:54 AEST
New GOAT: Holbrook on repeat 18 years after Bulls fight
Justin Holbrook transformed the Newcastle Knights from last year's wooden spooners to NRL grand finalists, drawing from his successful coaching past.
The Canberra Times
Justin Holbrook has wound back the clock to transform the Newcastle Knights from pretenders to grand finalists - just as he did as head coach at the Gungahlin Bulls in 2008 while working as a soft drink sales rep.
Holbrook has taken last year's wooden spooners and sprinkled his magic dust into each and every player at the Knights to win through to Sunday's decider against the Sydney Roosters.
In the 19-man squad named for the grand final, only halfback Sandon Smith, hooker Harrison Graham and bench forward Pasami Saulo were not at the club in some capacity in 2025.
It was the same story at Gungahlin, in Canberra's north, 18 years ago when former NRL prop Mark Nicholls played under Holbrook as an 18-year-old in the Canberra Raiders Cup competition.
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Wed, 30th September, 2026, 22:17 AEST
Nathan Cleary wins first Dally M Medal to seal rugby league immortality
Nathan Cleary won the 2026 Dally M Medal, achieving a grand slam of personal awards despite recovering from leg surgery.
The Australian
Nathan Cleary has won the 2026 Dally M Medal - a last prestigious honour to elude the Panthers superstar over his magnificent career.
Cleary was formally handed the award at his Penrith home on Wednesday night, just hours after being discharged from Royal North Shore Hospital where he underwent surgery for a double compound fracture to his left leg that he suffered in last Sunday's 22-14 NRL preliminary final loss to Newcastle.
Cleary watched Fox League's coverage of the event from his living room as he was announced the winner at a glittering who's who of rugby league black-tie function at The Cutaway in Barangaroo.
A future Immortal, Cleary has now secured a grand slam of personal awards having finally clinched the Dally M Medal.
He came within two votes of winning the award in 2020, but lost out to then Canberra Raiders star Jack Wighton.
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Wed, 30th September, 2026, 21:14 AEST
Raiders halfback wins big at Dally M Awards
Ethan Sanders has won the 2026 Dally M Rookie of the Year award after taking on Canberra's halfback role in his first full NRL season.
His year began with a moment that was hard to forget. Against Manly in Round 1, Sanders kicked a long range field goal in golden point to give the Raiders a 29-28 win. He was playing just his fifth NRL game and received the maximum six Dally M votes for his performance.
Sanders' passing and kicking produced more highlights as the season went on.
In a notable 40-16 win over the Bulldogs in Round 19, Sanders set up tries with a pass, a high kick and a grubber into the in goal. Two weeks later, he scored a long range try and supplied four try assists against Wests Tigers as Canberra won 56-10.
Across 23 appearances, Sanders finished with 18 try assists, 17 line break assists, three tries and 81 goals.
The Raiders named him their Peter Mulholland Rookie of the Year, and he placed third in voting for the club's Meninga Medal.
From that opening round field goal to his work creating chances for teammates, Sanders gave Canberra plenty of reasons to be hopeful for the future as he celebrated his breakthrough season.