Fogarty fails to fire in dismal Raiders send off
Jacob Shteyman |
Jamal Fogarty will enter 2026 as the NRL’s most scrutinised player after his shortcomings were exposed in Canberra’s devastating post-season run ahead of a blockbuster switch to Manly.
In his final game in lime green, the halfback was culpable for three Cronulla tries and failed to lift the Raiders in attack as they were bundled out of the NRL finals 32-12 on Saturday night.
The pressure on Fogarty was ratcheted up when his halves partner, gun five-eighth Ethan Strange, was ruled out hours before kick-off with influenza.
Without Strange – the competition’s stand-out five-eighth this season – by his side, all the Raiders’ attacking thrust had to come through Fogarty.
He is used to taking the lion’s share of kicking duties, and tormented Cronulla fullback Will Kennedy with his swirling torpedo bombs.
But his kicking game was not as precise as it needed to be and in open play the absence of Strange’s livewire running was keenly felt.
It wasn’t the game-defining performance the Sea Eagles will be hoping for from the man chosen to take over the hallowed No.7 jersey from club legend Daly Cherry-Evans next season.
While Cronulla halfback Nicho Hynes has had his own issues with consistency, he stepped up in a big game when it mattered most.
The contrast with the Canberra No.7 frozen in the spotlight was stark.
In defence, Fogarty’s frailties were exposed too.
The 31-year-old was suckered infield by a Jesse Colquhoun decoy run, leaving the Sharks with a one-man overlap on their left edge for Ronaldo Mulitalo to level the scores in the first half
He conspired with Zac Hosking to let Billy Burns slip through a regulation tackle and stroll through to the tryline to give the Sharks the lead in the second half.
And soon after, the visitors had the result all but wrapped up when Fogarty spilled a bouncing ball into the path of KL Iro to push the Sharks out to a 14-point lead.
The Raiders would’ve had the night off, looking forward to hosting a preliminary final, if Fogarty’s kicking had been on song the weekend prior.
In Canberra’s 29-28 golden-point loss to the Broncos, he shanked the easiest field goal attempt of the night and missed a crucial conversion from a very kickable range.
Instead, they became the first club to be bundled out of the finals in straight sets since 2009.
It’s a disappointing way for Fogarty to end the most promising season of his career and a worry for his future employers at Brookvale.
AAP
