Canberra Raiders Cup First Grade: Grand Final Preview

It all comes down to 80 minutes of football to crown our Blumers Lawyers Canberra Raiders Cup premiers after an epic 2023 season.

The Tuggeranong Bushrangers will take on the Queanbeyan Kangaroos in what shapes up to be one of the great Grand Finals of Canberra Raiders Cup history.

The Roos will head into Sunday's decider on a high, after defeating the Belconnen United Sharks 40-10 in last weekend's prelim to secure their spot in the big dance.

Meanwhile, the Bushrangers will be refreshed after a week off, defeating Queanbeyan two weeks ago in what was a thrilling 18-13 major-semi victory.

The Bushrangers have now defeated the Roos two times this season, only going down to the Queanbeyan side once earlier in round eight this season.

Bushrangers’ captain Darby Medlyn was excited about the opportunity the club has to make history.

“It would be massive, the Bushies haven’t won the first-grade comp before so it would be huge,” Medlyn said.

Medlyn has put the efforts of his side down to resilience after having to deal with several injuries throughout the season.

Tuggeranong will have a massive day as they also have their reserve grade side in the grand final on Sunday.

Queanbeyan captain coach Sam Williams was happy with his team’s efforts last week and is hoping they execute the same this week.

“We had to go through the long way after getting beat by Bushies in the first week of finals, not such a bad thing in the end, you always run the risk of either losing the game or injuries but, we have come through pretty good,” Williams said.

This will be a big game for both sides and Williams and his side are set for the challenge ahead.

Queanbeyan did finish their season in first place and the Bushrangers in second but that is all in the past now as only one team will come out on top.