Commentator Dan Ginnane said the Raiders’ request for their qualifying final against the Broncos to be played on Sunday has backfired.
The Raiders went down in a heartbreaking 29-28 loss to the Broncos at GIO Stadium, which was stretched out to 93 minutes after running into extra time and golden point.
Canberra now only have a six-day turnaround before hosting a semi-final against the Sharks on Saturday night.
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“Well it’s come back to bite them hasn’t it,” Ginnane said on NRL 360 on Wednesday night.
“They asked for the Sunday game, and I think as number one seed, they should be at least listened to and they were but now it means they’ve got a six day prep.”
The Raiders will also have to deal with the mental toll of having “won that game three times”, according to Ginnane.
Not only did the Raiders squander a 28-12 lead with 15 minutes remaining, but they also thought they had the game won on two other occasions as well.
The Raiders appeared to have won 28-26 at the end of regular time, with no time left on the clock and the game seemingly over.
But the Broncos were awarded a penalty under the posts after contact was made on the leg of Reece Walsh as he attempted a two-point field goal.
Walsh slotted the penalty goal to send the game to extra time.
Then once the game got to golden point, it looked as though Jamal Fogarty had won the game with a try, but it was disallowed after there was found to be a knock on by the Raiders in the contest for the ball in the lead up.
“It’s unheard of. It’s unprecedented,” host Braith Anasta said.
“It’s unprecedented, exactly,” Ginnane responded.
Anasta questioned halfback Fogarty’s performance against the Broncos.
“One player who has come under the microscope is Jamal Fogarty,” Anasta said.
“He’s missed a couple of opportunities of late when he’s needed to ice them.
“Would Ricky be a little bit nervous this week about his halfback?”
Reporter Michael Carayannis elaborated on Fogarty’s struggles.
“There was a couple of big moments on the weekend,” Carayannis added.
“That conversion attempt that we didn’t think would probably have a bearing on the game that he missed and then not getting himself into field goal territory at the end there where they went the wrong way.
“So I don’t think he’d be nervous about it.”
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But Ginnane disagreed.
“He’s going to be petrified,” Ginnane said.
Anasta, who played under Raiders coach Ricky Stuart for a season at the Roosters in 2006, chimed in again.
“I know what Ricky’s like too,” Anasta said.
“As a halfback, he knows what his halfbacks need to do and he’d be up his you know what about it.
“There would be an element of doubt after the last few weeks, there just would be.
“I know from personal experience, when you are scarred by big moments, you can carry them.”
“You try and get them out of your mind but at the end of the day there’s an element of doubt until you nail it and you ice it and you hit the mark.”
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