NRL finals: Canberra Raiders refuse to be little guys with Jack Wighton as the face

But by contesting what looms as the most controversial call of the season, Canberra is taking a stand for themselves and the capital after being treated like the NRL's forgotten land.

It's the place of no preliminary finals, no free-to-air coverage and where Raiders officials were told it would be easier if they just "withered on the vine", creating an us-versus-them mentality for a city, not just a rugby league team.

The lack of consistency in decisions can be seen in Wighton being charged and the Raiders being denied a home preliminary final if they earn one. Both are different situations driven by the NRL and the Raiders are the victims.

They're not just small inconsistencies, they're jaw-droppingly horrible inconsistencies.

Wighton is the shattered face of the fight after a bizarre day of flimsy Dennis Denuto-style NRL explanations and an impending judiciary hearing that could shatter Wighton's finals dreams.

But it's brought tensions to the surface after the Raiders rebuilt Green Machine pride to become the team neutral fans ride to the grand final, if they make it that far.

The NRL is in danger of having lime green egg all over their faces twice in less than a week — first with Wighton's case and then the potential of a preliminary final in Sydney involving no Sydney teams.

Wighton's grade-two charge for a shoulder charge would have been easier to swallow if the match review committee hadn't cleared Michael Ennis of the same incident 24 hours earlier.

The unprecedented and detailed explanation of why Wighton was charged and Ennis avoided punishment in a press release came before what is supposed to be a fair hearing for the Raiders fullback.

If the NRL match review committee were so convinced their decision was right, why were they so determined to reinforce their point before Wighton had a chance to defend himself?

The Raiders believe they have evidence to overturn the decision even though it appears his suspension was signed before the email was sent.

The major bugbear upsetting fans is the lack of consistency. The truth is both Wighton and Ennis used a shoulder charge on the weekend. The sad reality is that only one is facing punishment.

You can scrutinise both collisions as much as you want. Wighton's was high impact while Ennis' was late. But the problems start with the system.

The conspiracy theories in Canberra sent social media into overdrive, fuelled partly by claims earlier this year that NRL officials told the Raiders it would be easier if they weren't in the competition.

The Raiders have copped plenty over the years. But under Ricky Stuart's guidance there's belief and a refusal to be kicked by anyone. You only have to look at the way they play to know that.

Stuart has said "you feel like you've been invited to the dance but you're not allowed to dance" in reference to being written off by those in Sydney.

Does the NRL want Canberra in the competition? It seems crazy that the fairytale story of the NRL season and everyone's favourite "second team" is being shunned at the top.

The NRL will force the Raiders to play a home preliminary final in Sydney against a non-Sydney team if they beat the Sharks this weekend.

The explanation at the NRL season launch on Monday was that playing in Canberra would be selling short the occasion of a grand final qualifier because Canberra Stadium only has a 26,000 capacity.

"We should be aiming high in the penultimate game of the year, the game before the grand final, we should be looking to have 40, or 50 or 60 or 70,000 people. There's no apologies for that," said NRL boss Todd Greenberg.

Someone obviously forgot to tell Greenberg that AAMI Park in Melbourne and the Cowboys' stadium in Townsville, which are both potential preliminary finals venues, only hold 30,000 and 26,500 respectively.

The feeling behind the scenes at the Raiders is that they are fed up with treatment by Sydney-based officials and the only way they'll get respect is if they're willing to fight. They've got to be willing to take hits to get results.

If they don't fight, they'll be the poor cousins of the Sydney NRL beast.