{"id":92707,"date":"2025-08-24T16:35:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-24T16:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/92707\/"},"modified":"2025-08-24T16:35:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T16:35:13","slug":"canberra-raiders-are-nrls-new-clutch-kings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/92707\/","title":{"rendered":"Canberra Raiders are NRL\u2019s new clutch kings"},"content":{"rendered":"

And best for long-suffering Dragons fans not to dwell too long on their 5-9 record with games there to be won.<\/p>\n

But if there is hope to be had, they might take it from Canberra shedding the unflattering \u2018Faders\u2019 tag \u2013 earned after blowing numerous double-digit leads and fluffing their lines at the death.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to think that we\u2019d be able to win before it gets to the final five minutes, but you do take a fair bit of confidence from winning a clutch game,\u201d Fogarty says. \u201cEspecially because in previous years, we\u2019ve probably lost too many games in those moments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve always set up for field goals and practiced how we want to do them<\/a> and Sticky mentioned last week that this could either win us a game if we execute it properly, or cost us one too at this time of the season, so it\u2019s something we need to keep working on and improving.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Raiders have outscored their opposition in 16 of 22 second halves this year because they\u2019re fit, fast and full of belief.<\/p>\n

Fogarty and Stuart both point to a particularly gruelling pre-season, when pundits were predicting wooden spoons and bottom four finishes, and Stuart was quietly keeping the predictions in his back pocket.<\/p>\n

Canberra have reeled in deficits no fewer than 12 times this year \u2013 knocking off the Titans and Dolphins in April after conceding 16 and 18-point leads.<\/p>\n

The Sharks, Dolphins, Storm, Warriors, Roosters, Wests Tigers, Knights, Dragons and now Panthers have all been beaten in the final few minutes.<\/p>\n

Canberra now are odds on to claim their first minor premiership since 1990 and the days of Stuart, Daley, Meninga and co. And just as useful,crucial golden point wins over Penrith and Melbourne to draw upon come finals time.<\/p>\n

Had Nathan Cleary\u2019s field goal sailed through the central-west air with even the slightest shift in trajectory, only half an inch to the right was all that was needed, this is a different story.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Raiders are now the NRL\u2019s clutch kings, which is a welcome relief for Ricky Stuart.Credit: Aresna Villanueva<\/p>\n

And even with two golden point losses in as many games<\/a>, anyone questioning the game\u2019s best halfback and his ability to ice a contest hasn\u2019t been paying attention for the past five seasons.<\/p>\n

But Penrith have been one of the greatest sides rugby league has ever seen, and Melbourne their closest competitor in the past five years, because they just don\u2019t lose these games. It\u2019s the opposition that blinks first, then panics, then implodes.<\/p>\n

Loading<\/p>\n

It takes an extraordinary effort to outlast the Storm and Panthers.<\/p>\n

And when the Raiders beat Melbourne at Magic Round, Fogarty knocked over both critical shots at goal \u2013 first to convert Kaeo Weekes\u2019 late try in driving rain at Suncorp, and then the golden point penalty goal that followed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s my lesson right there, and the lesson for the team in general out of getting the win [against Penrith],\u201d Fogarty says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI rushed that shot [in Mudgee] and I knew it straight away. But there\u2019s been times this year like the game against Melbourne where I\u2019ve taken my time, calmed myself down and stuck to the process that works.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the same for all of us. We\u2019ve had great coaching all year and as players we have really bought into that and trusted the work we\u2019ve put in. It comes out when the pressure\u2019s on.\u201d<\/p>\n

NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"And best for long-suffering Dragons fans not to dwell too long on their 5-9 record with games there…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":92708,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-92707","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-national-rugby-league","11":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","12":"tag-nrl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}