Raiders face tough start to season with horror early draw - The Canberra Times

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart. Photo: Jay Cronan

The Ricky Stuart era at Canberra is set for a daunting start after the Raiders were given a horror early season draw including four of their first five games on the road.

Stuart will begin his tenure in round one against North Queensland on Saturday, March 8, where he will come up against sacked Raiders coach and Cowboys assistant David Furner.

Canberra’s first home game is a Sunday night fixture against Gold Coast on March 23. They also travel to Townsville, Newcastle, Souths and Penrith in the first five weeks.

It adds to an already hectic pre-season travel schedule, with Canberra to play trials in Melbourne (February 8) and Tamworth (February 22), and the inaugural Auckland Nines (February 15).Former Eels coach Stuart will avoid facing the music at Parramatta, with Canberra to play his old side at Darwin in round 22 as part of Parramatta’s four-year deal to play a home match in the Top End. After landing just one game on Channel Nine in 2013, the Raiders have been given three free-to-air appearances in the first 20 rounds, with the schedule for the final six weeks to be released later in the season.

The NRL will meet with Manly officials on Wednesday to discuss the possibility of moving Manly’s round eight home game at Brookvale Oval on Sunday, April 27 to China.

The match has been scheduled on the week before the representative round, allowing both teams to recover from the nine-hour flight and time difference should it go ahead.

Other points of interest include:

• Channel Nine home games against Melbourne in round seven (Sunday, April 20), North Queensland at home in round 11 (Sunday, May 25) and Canterbury in round 15 (Friday, June 20),


• A round 23 home clash against arch rival St George-Illawarra with date and time to be confirmed,


• A Saturday afternoon home game against Newcastle in round six (April 12),


• Home games against traditional big drawers in Parramatta, Wests Tigers, Dragons, South Sydney, Canterbury and Brisbane.

Raiders 2014 draw (all times AEDST)

Round 1: North Queensland at 1300Smiles Stadium, Townsville (Sat, March 8, 9pm)

Round 2: Newcastle at Hunter Stadium, Newcastle (Sun, March 16, 6.30pm)

Round 3: Gold Coast at Canberra Stadium (Sun, March 23, 6.30pm)

Round 4: Souths at ANZ Stadium, Sydney (Sun, March 30, 2pm)

Round 5: Penrith at Centrebet Stadium, Sydney (Sat, April 5, 5.30pm)

Round 6: Newcastle at Canberra Stadium (Sat, April 12, 3pm)

Round 7: Melbourne at Canberra Stadium, (Sun, April 20, 3pm)

Round 8: Manly at Brookvale Oval, Sydney (Sun, April 27, 2pm)

Round 9. New Zealand at Eden Park, Wellington (Sat, May 10, 3pm)

Round 10: Penrith at Canberra Stadium, (Sun, May 18, 2pm)

Round 11: North Queensland at Canberra Stadium (Sun, May 25, 3pm)

Round 12: Roosters at Allianz Stadium, Sydney (Sat, May 31, 5.30pm)

Round 13: Broncos at Canberra Stadium (Mon, June 9, 7pm)

Round 14: Bye

Round 15: Canterbury at Canberra Stadium (Fri, June 20, 7.45pm)

Round 16: Wests Tigers at Campbelltown, Sydney (Sat, June 28, 5.30pm)

Round 17: Bye

Round 18: Gold Coast at Skilled Park, Gold Coast (Sun, July 13, 2pm)

Round 19: Melbourne at AAMI Park, Melbourne, (Sat, July 19, 5.30pm)

Round 20: Souths at Canberra Stadium (Mon, July 28, 7pm)

Round 21: Warriors at Canberra Stadium (Schedule TBC)

Round 22: Parramatta at TIO Stadium, Darwin (Schedule TBC)

Round 23: St George Illawarra at Canberra Stadium (Schedule TBC)

Round 24: Cronulla at Remondis Stadium, Sydney (Schedule TBC)

Round 25: Wests Tigers at Canberra Stadium (Schedule TBC)

Round 26: Parramatta at Canberra Stadium (Schedule TBC)