2010 Canberra Raiders season
Introduction The '''2010 Canberra Raiders season''' was the 29th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2010 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season 7th (out of 16). They then proceeded as far as the second week of the finals when they were knocked out by the Wests Tigers.
Season summary The 2010 season began poorly for the Raiders with a loss to Penrith in the opening round however against early-season expectations that the Raiders would again struggle the club posted early season wins over Brisbane in round two, Parramatta in round five and the New Zealand Warriors in round eight in New Zealand in what was the club's first win in New Zealand since the early 2000s. However, losses to Todd Carney's new club the Roosters in round six and a narrow loss at home to the South Sydney Rabbitohs in round seven saw the club sitting second from last after round seven (last had the Melbourne Storm not been stripped of competition points due to salary cap breaches) of the 2010 season. Wins over the ladder-leading Dragons and the Gold Coast Titans followed until a four-game losing streak ensued; with the club sitting third from last after a round 17 home loss to the Roosters in what was Todd Carney's return to the nation's capital. The Raiders then began a run similar to that of Parramatta last year; winning eight of their next nine regular season matches to sneak into the top eight by season's end. The regular season's highest home attendance came when 20,445 fans filled Canberra Stadium to see the Raiders defeat the ladder-leading Dragons 32-16 for the second time in the season.The Raiders advanced to the finals on the back of eight wins from their past nine and were drawn a tough away final against the second-placed Penrith Panthers whom the Raiders had beaten just five weeks earlier. The Raiders led from the start and despite lapses at times during the match they managed a narrow 24–22 win, thus achieving its first final win in a decade, which was also against the Panthers. This saw the Raiders draw a home final against the Wests Tigers in round two of the finals. Having lost to the Tigers twice during the regular season, it was hoped that a record crowd of 26,746 would inspire the Raiders to continue their fairytale run deep into the finals, however a missed penalty attempt by Jarrod Croker in the final minutes of the match saw Canberra lose by 26–24 and therefore draw a curtain on the Raiders' 2010 season.
Results  Trial Games Round  Opponent  Result  Can. Opp. Date  Venue  Crowd Trial 1 Western Suburbs Magpies Win 20  12  13 Feb  Southwell Park  Trial 2 Brisbane Broncos Loss 24  32  20 Feb  Ballymore Stadium  Trial 3Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Loss 12  22  27 Feb  APEX Oval  8,050 NRL Regular Season Games Round  Opponent  Result  Can. Opp. Date  Venue  Crowd  Position 1   Penrith Panthers  Loss  16  34  13 Mar  CUA Stadium  11,133  15/16 2   Brisbane Broncos  Win  22  14  22 Mar  Canberra Stadium  14,200 12/16 3   Gold Coast Titans  Loss  4  24  27 Mar  Skilled Park  11,521 14/16 4   Wests Tigers  Loss  22  35  4 Apr  Canberra Stadium  17,112 15/16 5   Parramatta Eels  Win  24  12  12 Apr  Parramatta Stadium  15,122 11/16 6   Sydney Roosters  Loss  6  36  17 Apr  Sydney Football Stadium  9,308 15-14/16* 7   South Sydney Rabbitohs  Loss  24  26  25 Apr  Canberra Stadium  13,145 15/16 8   New Zealand Warriors  Win  23  16  1 May  Mt Smart Stadium  11,499 12/16 9  BYE  8–10 May   11/16 10   Melbourne Storm  Loss  6  17  15 May  Canberra Stadium  12,165 13/16 11   St. George-Illawarra Dragons  Win  22  14  23 May  WIN Stadium  14,728 11/16 12  BYE  28–31 May   10/16 13   Gold Coast Titans  Win  28  24  6 Jun  Canberra Stadium  10,425  10/16 14   North Queensland Cowboys  Loss  8  16  12 Jun  Dairy Farmers Stadium  12,058 11/16 15   Wests Tigers  Loss  8  12  20 Jun  Leichhardt Oval  19,428 11/16 16   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs  Loss  10  18  28 Jun  Canberra Stadium  11,194 12/16 17   Sydney Roosters  Loss  12  22  4 Jul  Canberra Stadium  10,767 14/16 18   Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles  Win  24  22  10 July  Brookvale Oval  10,027 13/16 19    Newcastle Knights  Win  52  18  18 July  Canberra Stadium  9,459 11/16 20   Cronulla Sharks  Win  20  13  24 July  Canberra Stadium  9,280 11/16 21   Melbourne Storm  Loss  12  36  1 Aug  AAMI Park  9,112 12/16 22   Penrith Panthers  Win  30  26  9 Aug  Canberra Stadium  8,850 11/16 23   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs  Win  28  14  14 Aug  ANZ Stadium  10,116 11/16 24   St. George-Illawarra Dragons  Win  32  16  22 Aug  Canberra Stadium  20,445 9/16 25   North Queensland Cowboys  Win  48  4  28 Aug  Canberra Stadium  11,434 8/16 26   Brisbane Broncos  Win  18  16  3 Sep  Suncorp Stadium  38,872 7/16 NRL Finals Games Round  Opponent  Result  Can. Opp. Date  Venue  Crowd QF   Penrith Panthers  Win  24  22  11 Sep   CUA Stadium  16,668 SF   Wests Tigers  Loss  24   26  17 Sep  Canberra Stadium  26,476 Colour  Result Green  Win Red  Loss Yellow Golden point Win Blue ByeFinished round in 15th but promoted to 14th after Melbourne were stripped of competition points
Club awards  Award Winner Mal Meninga Medal David Shillington Coaches Award Daniel Vidot Rookie of the Year Sam Mataora Fred Daly Memorial Clubman of the Year Trophy Dane Tilse National Youth Competition Player of the Year Mark Nicholls National Youth Competition Coaches Award Sam Williams Gordon McLucas Memorial Award (Junior representative player of the year) Jack Wighton Geoff Caldwell Memorial Award (Vocational Encouragement) Mark Appleton
2010 squad ===Preseason transfers==='''IN'''* Danny Galea (from Wests Tigers)* Reece Robinson (from Brisbane Broncos)'''OUT'''* Phil Graham (to Sydney Roosters)* Nigel Plum (to Penrith Panthers)* Adrian Purtell (to Penrith Panthers)* Stuart Flanagan (to Cronulla Sharks)* Glen Turner (Retired)===Midseason transfers==='''IN'''* Adam Mogg (from Catalans Dragons)
Ladders
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