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Raider's unfinished business ahead of Canberra swansong
Jacob Shteyman, AAP • September 18th, 2025 8:21 am
Jamal Fogarty | Photo: AAP
Time is running out on a promise Jamal Fogarty made when he first joined NRL club Canberra.
Saturday's sudden-death semi-final against Cronulla will be the Manly-bound playmaker's last in lime green, unless the Raiders pick themselves up off the floor following a heartbreaking 29-28 loss to the Broncos.
But before he can call time on his Raiders career, Fogarty has some unfinished business to attend to.
"I still remember my debut speech we had at the stadium. I said the whole goal of me coming here was to win a comp, and that's been part of my journey," he told AAP.
"Obviously I've been here for four years now and still haven't achieved that. So we've still got an opportunity now to make that happen."
This season has already surpassed the expectations of most NRL pundits, who gave the Raiders little chance of becoming minor premiers.
But the side's success came as no surprise to Fogarty.
"I knew the Raiders had a good squad and a passionate coach that cared about his players, so it just made it a lot easier to transition down here from the Goldie (Gold Coast)," he said.
Fogarty credits coach Ricky Stuart with giving him the confidence to develop into one of the league's top halves, after waiting until his late 20s to become a regular starter in the NRL.
Central to Canberra's success this year has been the Queenslander's kicking, with his towering torpedo bombs putting the fear of god into visiting fullbacks at GIO Stadium.
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"I've probably always had that in my back pocket," Fogarty said.
"I just probably never had a coach that promoted it or gave me confidence to express myself that way. And Stick (Stuart) has been awesome for me.
"I've shanked a fair few at training. He doesn't care. And I've shanked a couple during the game. He says 'I don't care, just get the next one'."
That mentality of not dwelling on your mistakes and moving forward could be crucial, with the clash against Cronulla likely to be another closer one.
Fogarty doesn't have time to kick himself over missing a crucial field goal attempt that could have sealed the result against the Broncos, or a kickable conversion attempt that could have given the Raiders extra breathing room.
"That's football. You win some, you lose some. As long as we learn, we got another opportunity this week," he said.
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