The Canberra Raiders are calling on fans to vote on the club’s best jersey of all-time, as part of the 40th-anniversary celebrations.
The Raiders have teamed up with avid Raiders memorabilia guru, Canberra Raiders Jersey Nerd to select 40 of the clubs most iconic and unique jerseys, so fans can vote on their all-time favourite Raiders jersey.
The Raiders will have four rounds of voting to select the top 10, with each round showcasing a mix of eras and jerseys over the clubs 40-year history. The top 10 jerseys will then be selected from the fan vote, with one final vote to see which jersey is voted the best in club history.
Below is some information on the history of the club’s jersey and our second round of 10 jerseys, which you can vote on to make it through to the final!
CLICK HERE to vote on your favourite jerseys in round two
Raiders 40 -Year Jersey Competition Round 2
1982 Home
The story of the original Raiders jersey is one which can be traced back to 1981, with the club deciding to hold a public competition to come up with the club colours and jersey design for the debut season in 1982.
In David Headon’s recent book ‘Absolutely Bleeding Green – The Raiders story’ he explains that the competition attracted over 120 entries and was won by local resident ‘Patricia Taylor’. She proposed the colours of the jersey ought to be a combination of the ACT’s blue and gold, together with the green and white of the Hall village rugby league team of yesteryear. The uniform design, approved by the NSWRL in August, consisted of a lime-green jersey with white hoops above the elbows and blue and gold stripes, and lime green socks with banded blue, gold and white tops.
‘Patricia Taylor’ was in fact Patricia Elphick, the wife of local ACT Rugby League identity Don Elphick. It was felt that his prominent place in Raiders’ submission and presentation team might make the competition look like an exercise in nepotism. So ‘Patricia Taylor’ won the competition – well, half a competition – and most were pleased with the result. In a letter she sent to NRL Chief Executive Todd Greenberg in February 2019, 82-year-old Mrs Elphick pointed out for historical record that she had nothing to do with the Canberra Raiders’ suggested jersey design or its colours. The ‘original designer’, she wrote was her late husband Don, and the ‘Taylor’ name used in the entry was her maiden name.
1990 Home
The 1990 Home jersey was worn in the Raiders second premiership season and carries history as another of the Raiders premiership jerseys.
The jersey carries the same hoops of blue, white and yellow of the 1989 premiership jersey, but incorporated a new blue collar into the design, which was a change from the World Club Challenge jersey.
The major Sponsor for the jersey is Video Ezy which underwent a couple of changes in appearance early on, and also featured their branding on the sleeves. Video Ezy would remain on the front of the jersey for the Raiders third consecutive Grand Final appearance in 1991 before their last season as major sponsor in 1992.
Manufactured by Peerless, the jerseys feature the NSWRL and original Raiders logos.
1994 Away
The 1994 Away jersey continues the trend of traditionally styled away jerseys, with the predominantly white strip incorporating the 1994 style of a wing collar in blue. This was an iconic look along with the blue shorts and socks.
The Green, blue and yellow hoops feature on the sleeves and around the centre of the jersey. Being a predominantly white jersey also made the Canberra Milk and Video Ezy sponsorships stand out even more.
The jersey manufactured by Canterbury, carries the NSWRL logo and the traditional Raiders logo.
1999 heritage
During the 1999 season the Raiders used their round 26 home match against the Balmain Tigers to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the clubs first premiership win in 1989. As part of the celebrations a jersey was produced to help mark the occasion.
The jersey returned to the cotton style used in the late 80’s with the traditional blue, white and yellow hoops used around the jersey sleeves, with a white collar.
The jersey was produced by classic sportswear and featured match details embroidered above and below the Raiders emblem to help mark the occasion. The NRL logo also featured on this jersey.
2003 Indigenous
This historical jersey was the first Indigenous jersey the club has produced. The jersey uses the colours of the Australian Aboriginal Flag designed by artist and Luritja man Harold Thomas in 1970.
The jersey also features both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags on the front and back of the jersey.
Manufactured by ISC, the jersey carries the Telstra Premiership and Canberra Raiders logos. The clubs major sponsor in 2003 was Fone Zone and their logo appears on the front of the jersey also.
2006 Home
In 2006 the Raiders celebrated 25 years and reverted their home jersey back to a more traditional design to mark the occasion for the first time since 1996.
The simple design of a green jersey with the blue, white and yellow hoops on the sleeves with a blue collar gave fans the opportunity to help mark the 25-year milestone with a tribute to the past. The jersey manufactured by ISC featured the Raiders 25-year logo on the chest together with the Telstra Premiership logo and the major sponsor Fone Zone logo.
2012 ANZAC
The Raiders helped to commemorate the ANZAC day weekend in 2012 by wearing the clubs first ever ANZAC jersey. The jersey was worn in the Raiders round 12 Sunday afternoon match against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
The jersey concept had been inspired by prominent Canberra car dealer Richard Rolfe and featured a green camouflage design incorporating the chevron design used in 2012. It incorporated the Heart Foundation logo on the sleeves (of which Mr Rolfe was a patron) to help raise awareness for the Heart Foundation as well as the Legacy logo on the back. The jerseys would also go on to be auctioned with proceeds going to both charities.
The jersey produced by ISC also featured the NRL Telstra Premiership and Raiders logos, along with major sponsor Huawei.
2016 Home
The 2016 Raiders home jersey proved to be a popular one amongst fans, with its simple design allowing fans to easily identify with the clubs historical jerseys. 2016 was also a successful season for the club on-field, with the Raiders reaching the preliminary final for the first time in a unified competition since 1995.
The predominantly green jersey features the traditional blue, white and yellow hoops high up on the sleeves, with a blue colour and blue trim around the base of the sleeves and jersey.
There is also a special 82 Raiders logo on the inside of the neck of the jersey.
The jersey features the NRL Telstra Premiership and club logos. Huawei also appears as major sponsor for the season.
2017 Charity
The 2017 Charity jersey was another of the Huawei Charity jersey initiatives which gave charitable organisations the opportunity to have exposure on the Raiders NRL jersey.
In 2017 the charity was the Ricky Stuart Foundation. This was the second year of a three-year association on the jersey for RSF which also promoted the Autism Wellbeing message.
The jersey’s featured artwork from two children Max and Jayden who attended and benefited from the Ricky Stuart House in Canberra, together with the RSF logos and #AutismWellbeing message.
The Raiders traditional blue, yellow and green hoops featured across the chest and around the sleeves of the white and teale jersey. The club would also auction off the matchworn jerseys with proceeds going to the Ricky Stuart Foundation.
The major sponsor Huawei’s logo is featured on the centre chest position to give exposure to the charitable element, with the NRL Telstra Premiership and Raiders logos featuring.
2020 Foundation
During the 2020 season the Raiders produced a special Raiders Foundation jersey, to help raise money and awareness for the Raiders Foundation.
The Raiders Foundation has been established in partnership with the Australian Sports Foundation, to help ensure the ongoing success of the club driving growth both on and off the field.
People who supported the initiative through a dedicated contribution to the foundation had their names featured on the bottom half of the jersey.
The jersey design used the traditional elements of the Raiders jersey similar to that of the 1990 season, with the names of the donors incorporated into the Blue, White and Yellow hoops on the bottom of the jersey. The sleeves also features the blue, white and yellow hoops.
The major sponsor logo of Huawei features, along with the NRL Telstra Premiership and Raiders logos.
