We love the mighty Canberra Raiders
The Canberra Raiders will get an early shot at finals revenge against the Newcastle Knights.
Canberra's set to start their 2024 NRL season against the Knights in Newcastle in a round one Thursday night blockbuster on March 7.
It will give the Green Machine a chance to avenge their heart-breaking, extra-time, elimination-final loss to the Knights, where they dominated a majority of the game only to go down to a Kalyn Ponga penalty goal.
The Canberra Raiders could know by the end of the week whether they need to find a new assistant coach.
It's believed Michael Maguire was meeting with NSWRL this week, with the potential for him to be announced as Blues State of Origin coach by Friday.
Then he'd have three coaching roles given he's also the New Zealand Kiwis coach, having just guided them to a massive 30-0 victory over Australia in the final of the Pacific Championships at Hamilton on Saturday.
It's one of the easiest Novembers Jarrod Croker's had in years. And it's the best his body has felt in years as well.
Rather than sweating it up on the training track, the retired Canberra Raiders captain was judging Fashions on the Field at Thoroughbred Park on Melbourne Cup Day.
The Raiders young guns have already returned for pre-season training, while the senior players - like Jamal Fogarty, who was at the track with Croker on Tuesday - will return in two weeks.