Ricky Stuart is bringing the "spirit and the history back" to the Canberra Raiders as they produced their biggest win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs since their current coach was pulling the strings at halfback more than 25 years ago.
The 54-4 win eclipsed the Raiders' 48-0 victory at Allianz Stadium in 1990 and sets up a blockbuster two weeks against top-two sides Cronulla and Melbourne.
It was the Raiders' fifth straight victory as Elliott Whitehead and Jordan Rapana scored braces, although it could have come at a cost with Edrick Lee (calf) and Luke Bateman (concussion) not finishing the game. Bateman indicated he should be right to face the Sharks.
@Super_Couch I just wanted a rest. heads bit dusty but I'm all sweet mate
— Luke Bateman (@luke_bateman) July 31, 2016
Raiders centre Joey Leilua also twisted an ankle during the first half but played out the game.
The Rabbitohs have now lost eight in a row and also suffered more injuries with Luke Keary (hamstring) and Angus Crichton (concussion) not lasting the 80 minutes.
Canberra captain Jarrod Croker, who took his points tally past the 200 mark for the season during the win, praised the way Stuart had come in and turned the club around. The Raiders will play finals for the first time since 2012.
"It's obviously something that had to happen and I know when [Stuart] came in a lot of boys were a bit worried about it," Croker joked.
"He's really brought the spirit and the history back into the club. It's something the boys really enjoy doing. We have a lot of functions and a lot of events and dinners and stuff where we get the old players in. The old players love it as much as the boys love having them in there. Everyone at the club is proud to pull that jersey on and [Stuart] has really brought that back, it's a pleasure to play for him."
But Stuart wasn't getting carried away with the win against an injury-hit Souths side also missing suspended superstar Greg Inglis.
He was mindful that "things can turn very nasty" as he turned his focus to the Sharks, who thrashed the Raiders 40-16 in round seven.
"I'm not looking at where we'll be over the next two weeks to learn where we're at, I know where we're at," he said.
"If we can keep within three or four tries of Cronulla next week we've had a huge improvement. They dusted us up and bashed us around last game and beat us by 40-50 points. They're a class team, they're going very well and they deserve to be where they are. If we can keep within those points there's improvement there in us."
The Raiders were able to capitalise on a raft of Rabbitohs errors, scoring after just five minutes from a Souths knock-on.
Raiders halfback Aidan Sezer produced a pin-point, cross-field kick to winger Rapana, who found Whitehead wrapping around and running into a vacant corner for the first try of the game.
They weathered a period of Rabbitohs dominance, which came at the loss of five-eighth Keary to a hamstring strain, before their attack then exploded into life with devastating effect.
Rapana scored twice, while Lee and Leilua also crossed for a 26-0 half-time lead.
Wighton increased the pain for the Rabbitohs when he swooped on a loose pass just seven minutes into the second half, but Souths finally got some reward as John Sutton got the home team on the scoreboard.
All it did was delay the inevitable and tries to Croker, Blake Austin, Whitehead and Sia Soliola finished the Bunnies off.
"I think the stats that they showed tonight, if you're going to complete at 95 per cent — you watch the games over the weekend from Melbourne, even the Cowboys, a lot of the teams at the pointy end are completing high and that's about possession," Souths coach Michael Maguire said.
"It's very crucial to make sure you're looking after the ball, if [the Raiders continue to] do that I think they'll definitely be in the sharp end [of the finals]."
CANBERRA RAIDERS 54 (Jordan Rapana 2, Elliott Whitehead 2, Edrick Lee, Joey Leilua, Jack Wighton, Jarrod Croker, Blake Austin, Sia Soliola tries; Croker 7 goals) bt SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS 4 (John Sutton) at ANZ Stadium. Referees: Jared Maxwell and Gavin Reynolds. Crowd: 10,076.