2010 Canberra Raiders season

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.

Trial Games[1] 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 3 Canterbury-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 Bye

*Finished round in 15th but promoted to 14th after Melbourne were stripped of competition points