Raiders coach Ricky Stuart made the bold claim after Canberra's semi-final exit on Friday night that his side would have made the top four if not for its early-season injury battles.
The Raiders, who finished the regular season in eighth after jumping ahead of the Broncos who bombed out, had won 13 of their last 17 games heading into their semi-final clash with the Eels at CommBank Stadium, but crashed out of the premiership race in a 40-4 defeat to Parramatta.
Canberra was hamstrung before a...