It was all going so well before it went so, so wrong.
After being 18-0 up and scoring a point a minute, it looked like a good old fashioned Raiders rout.
The mind started flicking through the archives.
Will this be another Broncos style 56-0 rout? Will it be a Panthers style 74-12 rout?
Wait, what? Trent Merrin scored! Of all people, Trent Merrin! “Boooo, boooo,” we cried!
Never mind, it’s just a blip on the radar. Perhaps it was looking more like the 74-12 option.
Then a Sisa Waqa intercept just before the half. Yes! This is it, definitely a 74-12 rout.
The sound of a whistle. A penalty! For the love of all that is Rugby League!
If Sisa was offside, what of Widdop spending what seemed like a half of football in our backline, we thought.
That may or may not have been the biased thoughts of a Raiders tragic. But never mind, 18-8, we’ve still got this.
And then another 40 minutes of footy progressed that needn’t stick in the mind for long.
The lowlight of which was a Mitch Rein dummy half run the lasted longer than it should have and ended where it shouldn’t have – an embarrassing try.
It was more tragic than when Zayn decided to leave One Direction… I mean errr, it was more tragic than the two hours I lost watching The Notebook. Credibility restored.
And speaking of restoring credibility, the mighty Raiders have a fantastic chance to restore some of their own this weekend.
The Roosters are in red hot form and it makes me sick to admit a few of their players have been racking up some reasonable fantasy points for my team.
At no point in the year will I be happier to watch those same fantasy players crash and burn.
They’ll be a tough task for our boys, but against the odds, it’s a game we can win.
First of all, we should be fired up for this one. The season started well and we’ll be out to show the comp we mean business in 2015.
Secondly, for those who watched Roosters vs Penrith on Monday, it was an absolute bash fest.
It was tight, it was tough, and the Roosters might just be feeling a little sore.
Thirdly, and call me bitter but it would be good to get one back over Blake Ferguson.
But last of all, we can win because we’re the mighty Raiders.
Sure we’ve dropped a few games over the years that we really shouldn’t have but we’re also very good at knocking off the favourites when the experts say we can’t.
So for those who can make it to Sydney this Sunday, cheer the boys loud and proud.
For the rest, get yourself in front of the telly and be ready for a show. I can’t wait!
