Canberra Raiders odds

The Canberra Raiders are an enigmatic bunch. Having nosedived to 10th in 2017 and remained there in 2018, Ricky Stuart’s men have a lot of questions to answer this season.

Can the Raiders romp back into finals contention? Let’s see where they sit in this year’s NRL betting markets.

About the Canberra Raiders

Best bookies for Canberra Raiders betting

Updated Canberra Raiders futures odds

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Best Canberra Raiders bets for NRL 2019

There are dozens of NRL futures markets for the Raiders, but where are they likely to return some real value?

Click on the tabs below to get more analysis on these markets:

• Raiders 2019 premiership betting
  The ladder says Canberra finished two places out of finals last season, but the reality is they were a long way off the pace. There are seven or eight teams with much stronger claims to the flag this year.
  
• Top 8 betting
  This is where the Raiders might come to the fore. If they get full seasons out of Nick Cotric, Joey Leilua, Jordan Rapana, Josh Hodgson and Jack Wighton, and if a few of the teams that finished above them taper off this year, they are every chance to sneak into the bottom half of the eight.
  
• Top tryscorer betting
  Jordan Rapana has been the go-to guy on the wings in recent years, but Nick Cotric is a star on the rise and might well crack the 20-try mark if he spends the whole year on the flanks.
  

2019 Canberra Raiders draw

Raiders players to watch in 2019

Nick Cotric
Born: 18/11/1998
Games: 48
Tries: 28
Position: Winger

Canberra’s teen sensation followed up his breakout 2017 campaign with another excellent year on the flanks. More of the same in the early rounds of the season could see him land in Brad Fittler’s NSW squad for the 2019 State of Origin series.

Jordan Rapana
Born: 15/8/1989
Games: 97
Tries: 67
Position: Winger

Canberra’s Kiwi flyer was not quite his prolific self in 2018, finishing the year with 10 tries from 21 games and only one multiple. If he can rediscover the form that saw him cross 44 times in the previous two seasons, the Raiders backs will be very hard to stop.

Joseph Leilua
Born: 12/12/1991
Games: 191
Tries: 85
Position: Centre

Raiders boss Ricky Stuart has long touted this guy for an Origin berth. That chance could come this year if Leilua and Rapana are as potent on the Canberra right as they have been over the past few seasons.

Canberra Raiders records and stats

• Player records
  Most games: 318 – Jason Croker
  Most career points: 1614* – Jarrod Croker
  Most points in a season: 296 – Jarrod Croker (2016)
  Most career tries: 120 – Jason Croker
  Most tries in a season: 23 – Jordan Rapana (2016)
  Most points in a match: 38 – Mal Meninga (vs. Roosters, 1990)
  
• Team records
  Most wins in a season: 20 (1995)
  Most consecutive wins: 11 (1989-90, 1994-95)
  Biggest winning margin: 68-0 (vs. Eels, 1993)
  Biggest comeback win: 0-22 to 30-22 (vs. Tigers, 2015)
  Largest home attendance: 26,476 (vs. Tigers at Canberra, 2010)
  
• Raiders NRL history
  The Canberra Raiders were formed in 1981 and joined the NSW Rugby League a year later. In doing so, they became the first interstate team to compete in Australia’s top-grade competition. They were also the first non-Sydney team in the NSWRL since the Newcastle Rebels left the division in 1909.

  It did not take long for the Raiders to become a genuine force. They reached the finals for the first time in 1984 and lost to Manly in the decider three years later. The floodgates opened when the likes of Mal Meninga, Laurie Daley, Ricky Stuart and Glenn Lazarus inspired Canberra to a 19-14 win over Balmain in the 1989 NSWRL Grand Final. They defended that title in 1990, fell just short in ’91 and added a third flag in ’94.

  The formation of the Australian Rugby League and the rival Super League marked the end of Canberra’s golden age. Their star players of the ’80s retired or departed, while the advent of several new franchises made it difficult to recruit and retain the best available talent. Although the Raiders have reached finals 10 times since 1998, they have yet to win another invite to the big dance.
  

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