# 2007 Canberra Raiders season

The 2007 Canberra Raiders season was the 26th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2007 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season 14th (out of 16).

## Pre-season

The Raiders' first trial match was against a highly understrength Brisbane Broncos team, with the top side in England playing their World Club Challenge match as premiers. However, the Raiders lost this game, resulting in widespread criticism and the team's entrenchment as wooden spoon favourites. Despite bouncing back against Wests Tigers in their second match, the Raiders were unable to put paid to these predictions, largely due to the side's lack of experience at both first grade and representative level.

## Regular season

The Raiders' first NRL match of the season started inauspiciously, with a 32–6 loss to the Manly Sea Eagles. Their first win was in the third round, a convincing 48–18 win over the Newcastle Knights. The team registered consecutive wins for the only time in Round 11 against the Dragons, and entered the top 8 for the first time in Round 13. However, this win was followed by four straight losses, and the Raiders were unable to find any consistency before the season finished.
This season was notable for the Raiders' struggles away from home – just two of their nine wins occurred away from Canberra Stadium.

### Results

Trial Games :
| Round | Opponent | Result | Can. | Opp. | Date | Venue | Crowd | Position |
| Trial Match | Brisbane Broncos | Loss | 12 | 18 | 24 Feb | Dolphin Park | | |
| Trial Match | Wests Tigers | Win | 26 | 4 | 3 Mar | Davies Park | | |
| NRL Regular Season Games |||||||||
| 1 | Manly Sea Eagles | Loss | 6 | 32 | 17 Mar | Brookvale Oval | 13,533 | 16/16 |
| 2 | Melbourne Storm | Loss | 16 | 32 | 24 Mar | Canberra Stadium | 9,556 | 15/16 |
| 3 | Newcastle Knights | Win | 48 | 18 | 30 Mar | Canberra Stadium | 13,109 | 10/16 |
| 4 | Parramatta Eels | Loss | 6 | 38 | 7 Apr | Parramatta Stadium | 10,091 | 14/16 |
| 5 | Sydney Roosters | Win | 37 | 28 | 16 Apr | Canberra Stadium | 15,862 | 12/16 |
| 6 | Cronulla Sharks | Loss | 0 | 26 | 21 Apr | Toyota Park | 9,289 | 15/16 |
| 7 | Penrith Panthers | Win | 34 | 18 | 28 Apr | CUA Stadium | 8,494 | 12/16 |
| 8 | Manly Sea Eagles | Loss | 30 | 46 | 6 May | Canberra Stadium | 14,387 | 14/16 |
| 9 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Win | 16 | 10 | 12 May | Telstra Stadium | 11,088 | 12/16 |
| 10 | BYE | | | | | | | 10/16 |
| 11 | St George Illawarra Dragons | Win | 30 | 6 | 25 May | Canberra Stadium | 13,187 | 7/16 |
| 12 | Gold Coast Titans | Loss | 8 | 28 | 3 Jun | Carrara Stadium | 13,642 | 9/16 |
| 13 | Parramatta Eels | Win | 38 | 10 | 9 Jun | Canberra Stadium | 11,232 | 8/16 |
| 14 | Newcastle Knights | Loss | 18 | 22 | 18 Jun | EnergyAustralia Stadium | 11,349 | 9/16 |
| 15 | North Queensland Cowboys | Loss | 24 | 28 | 23 Jun | Canberra Stadium | 11,263 | 13/16 |
| 16 | Wests Tigers | Loss | 22 | 16 | 1 Jul | Canberra Stadium | 12,598 | 13/16 |
| 17 | St George Illawarra Dragons | Loss | 16 | 58 | 8 Jul | WIN Stadium | 7,561 | 14/16 |
| 18 | Gold Coast Titans | Win | 56 | 10 | 15 Jul | Canberra Stadium | | 13/16 |
| 19 | Melbourne Storm | Loss | 6 | 34 | 21 Jul | Olympic Park | 8,983 | 13/16 |
| 20 | Penrith Panthers | Win | 34 | 30 | 27 Jul | Canberra Stadium | | 10/16 |
| 22 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Loss | 4 | 52 | 12 Aug | Telstra Stadium | | 14/16 |
| 23 | New Zealand Warriors | Win | 26 | 24 | 18 Aug | Canberra Stadium | 8,134 | 12/16 |
| 24 | Brisbane Broncos | Loss | 19 | 30 | 26 Aug | Suncorp Stadium | | 14/16 |
| 25 | Cronulla Sharks | Loss | 12 | 22 | 1 Sep | Canberra Stadium | | 14/16 |
| Colour | Result |
| Green | Win |
| Red | Loss |
| Yellow | Golden point Win |
| Blue | Bye |

### Ladder

2007 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 627 | 277 | +350 | 44 |
| 2 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 597 | 377 | +220 | 38 |
| 3 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 547 | 618 | −71 | 32 |
| 4 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 593 | 434 | +159 | 29 |
| 5 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 573 | 481 | +92 | 28 |
| 6 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 575 | 528 | +47 | 26 |
| 7 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 408 | 399 | +9 | 26 |
| 8 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 511 | 476 | +35 | 24 |
| 9 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 541 | 561 | −20 | 24 |
| 10 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 445 | 610 | −165 | 23 |
| 11 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 463 | 403 | +60 | 22 |
| 12 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 409 | 559 | −150 | 22 |
| 13 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 431 | 509 | −78 | 20 |
| 14 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 522 | 652 | −130 | 20 |
| 15 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 418 | 708 | −290 | 20 |
| 16 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 539 | 607 | −68 | 18 |

## Club Awards

| Award | Winner |
| Player of the Year | Scott Logan |
| Coaches Award | Josh Miller |
| Rookie of the Year | Joe Picker |
| Fred Daly Memorial Clubman of the Year Trophy | Brett Dickson |
| Premier League Player of the Year | Ryan Hinchcliffe |
| Premier League Coaches Award | Cy Lasscock |
| Jersey Flegg Player of the Year | Nick Skinner |
| Jersey Flegg Coaches Award | Shaun Fensom |

## Squad

* Colin Best
* Matt Bickerstaff
* Todd Carney
* Marshall Chalk
* Neville Costigan
* Michael Dobson
* Andrew Dunemann
* Phil Graham
* Bronx Goodwin
* David Howell
* Steve Irwin (released mid-season)
* Ben Jones
* Brett Kelly
* Tom Learoyd-Lahrs
* Scott Logan
* Josh Miller
* David Milne
* Adrian Purtell
* Nigel Plum (signed mid-season)
* Willie Raston
* Alan Rothery
* Troy Thompson
* Trevor Thurling
* Dane Tilse
* Alan Tongue
* Glen Turner
* Michael Weyman
* Jason Williams
* William Zillman
* Lincoln Withers