It was a disappointing start to the 2025 NRLW season for the Canberra Raiders.
The Raiders lost to the St George Illawarra Dragons 14-36 at GIO Stadium Canberra on 5 July.
Canberra’s tries went to Hollie-Mae Dodd in the 12th minute, Madison Bartlett in the 42nd minute and Sophie Holyman in the 53rd minute – the Raiders’ only try to be successfully converted.
The stadium was fairly empty 20 minutes before kick-off, which was disappointing to see, especially as it didn’t appear to fill much by the end of the match. The recorded attendance was 6,100 people.
Kylie Burnett from Parbery Consulting was the Viking Ambassador, a self-confessed “rugby league tragic at heart”. Despite the small crowd, the Viking Clap still carried some impact.
In the post-match press conference, Raiders co-captain Zahara Temara said it was hard to summarise what went wrong after the team was at its most confident going into the season.
“We’ve done a lot of hard work and we felt really connected, so to be so disconnected on defence was probably the most disappointing thing because we’ve worked so hard on it,” she told media.
“It’s hard to put my finger on how we let it get away that much. That was really disappointing.”
Coach Darrin Borthwick said the team got across the line twice in the first half.
“And obviously it didn’t go our way,” he told media.
“The girls did such a good job in the second half to get it back to 18-14.
“And then a couple of things that could have went our way again and it didn’t, a couple of forced passes that we didn’t need.
“I was probably more disappointed towards the end of the game with it just getting away from us.
“We’re obviously a better team than that. The girls have worked so hard defensively in this pre-season, so I’m pretty disappointed with that.”
When asked about the team’s losing track record ahead of their 12 July clash against the Sutherland-Cronulla Sharks, he said it was not good enough to play disappointingly at home
“It’s not good enough for the loyal fans that come out, that ride the team,” Mr Borthwick said.
“We have to give a little bit more than what we did.
“Now we get to play home like you said next week and really look at some stuff that we did do well today, but the bad stuff as well and review it all. You have to be way better next week.”
When asked by CD what he would like to say to the fans that did attend, he said the later kick-off (3:15pm) was a better time slot.
“It was good to see a lot of people watch the team play and obviously support our men’s team who are going really well,” he told CD.
“But the Canberra fans are always loyal fans, and they turn up in any conditions and they’re probably the best fans we’ve got.”
He told CD any time playing at home was terrific. This past weekend was a double header with the NRL team, both preceded by the NSW Cup.
“The girls were excited all week about it, and I know they’re disappointed too; they’re disappointed that the result ended up the way it did,” he told CD.
In the NRL, the Raiders defeated the Dragons 28-24 in front of 15,932 fans to remain in top spot on the ladder.
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