Canberra Raiders News

Wed, 27th May, 2026, 8:20 AEST
Ponissi reveals why 22-year-old star was not called into Blues camp
Mitch Moses is ruled out of game one; Ethan Strange will replace him for his Origin debut due to a hamstring strain.
Zero Tackle
The news no NSW Blues fan wanted to hear, that Mitch Moses would be ruled out of game one just 24 hours before the series kicked off.
The side needed to decide on a replacement, and on Tuesday morning, coach Laurie Daley revealed he didn't want to risk playing the Eels' halfback 48 hours after he sustained the injury.
He confirmed young Canberra Raiders half Ethan Srange, who is in his third season playing NRL, would be promoted to play five-eighth ahead of his debut in the Origin arena.
"He's strained a hammy. Nothing major. He had a tweak and won't miss a lot of football," Daley said.
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Wed, 27th May, 2026, 6:40 AEST
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart backs Ethan Strange to replicate Laurie Daley's heroics in Origin
Ricky Stuart won 127 games with Laurie Daley, knows Ethan Strange well, and is now coaching him in State of Origin.
The Australian
Across a playing career spanning 243 first grade games, Ricky Stuart won more matches with Laurie Daley than he did with any other player.
As the champion Raiders halfback in the 1990s, Stuart had a front-row seat to the brilliance of Daley, the former Canberra five-eighth.
They combined to win 127 games.
So when news broke that Canberra's current five-eighth Ethan Strange had been parachuted into the NSW State of Origin team to replace an injured Mitchell Moses against Queensland on Wednesday night, only one phone call needed to be made.
Just like he knew Daley's games, if anyone knows Strange, it's Stuart, his coach from Canberra.
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Tue, 26th May, 2026, 17:06 AEST
'We better have a look': This untold story says 'The Kid' can dominate Origin
Jamy Forbes reflects on Ethan Strange's impressive debut, leading The Entrance Tigers to a historic win against Maitland.
The Canberra Times
Jamy Forbes jokes he is trying to take a step back and fade into the distance. But before he does, you ask him about the day he handed Ethan Strange a first-grade debut for The Entrance Tigers.
"Mate, he came back after his SG Ball commitments and wanted to have a couple of games with his mates," Forbes said.
"He played 19s and killed it, so the coaches dragged him into the lower grades at the Tigers. He ended up playing three games on his first day back and I think he got man of the match in all three games. We said, 'we'd better have a look at this kid.'
"We dragged him up into the Cup [Newcastle Rugby League's first grade competition] as soon as we possibly could and lo and behold, we beat the all-conquering Maitland side that day.
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