General Raiders Melbourne Crew questions
How can I join? Does it cost anything?
How are you connected to the club?
Who organises this thing?
Are you club members?
If you live in Melbourne, why don’t you follow the Storm?
Game day meet ups at The Great Northern questions
Why do you meet at The Great Northern Hotel?
I don’t know anyone, can I still come along?
Does The Great Northern show every Raiders game?
Is The Great Northern a good place to watch the NRL?
Does it cost anything to attend?
Where in The Great Northern do you meet?
I’m just visiting Melbourne, can I join you for a game?
Do I need to book if I’m coming to a game?
How does State of Origin work at TGN?
Are games at TGN child friendly?
Are supporters of other clubs welcome?
Annual Road Trip questions
What’s the deal with these road trips?
How do I sign up for the road trips?
How do you decide what game to go to?
How do you get there?
Where do you stay?
How do you get tickets?
Merchandise questions
How does the Merch store work?
What is the quality like?
What if I have a problem with something I ordered?
Where does the money go?
Other questions
Are you aware of the Sydney Milk Syndicate?
What are your thoughts on the 2019 grand final?
General Raiders Melbourne Crew questions
How can I join? Does it cost anything?
Love that enthusiasm. We don’t really have formal membership. In the future we might do a voluntary membership subscription in order to fund things like this web site and decorations for finals games but this is going to be a) cheap and b) completely voluntary. The fact is if you get involved in in some way – take part in the chat, attend meet ups etc. you’re a member. We do encourage any Raiders fans based in Melbourne to consider getting Raiders away memberships though in order to support the club.
How are you connected to the club?
We’re not. We’re a supporters group. We’re self organised and not linked in any formal way to the club. However, if the club wanted to help us with some sweet ticket upgrades for our road trips, or if a retired player were to turn up at the pub one week… we’d be much obliged.
Who organises this thing?
There is a core group of us that have been around since the group started. We don’t really have a committee or anything though. If we got big enough or had issues I guess we could formalise things but we’re small enough at the moment that we just co-ordinate ourselves via the Messenger chat.
Are you club members?
Some of us are. We encourage people to check out the club membership options as it’s always good to support the club. There are a few membership options now for interstate fans like us. The away fans options are pretty good as you get tickets to away games, like when we play the Storm at AAMI Park (this is not guaranteed to happen every season but does happen most years). Limited game home memberships can also be good too if you travel back to gods country (Canberra) fairly regularly. Memberships also give you priority access to finals tickets which can make it worthwhile on it’s own. Check out the options for yourself here.
If you live in Melbourne, why don’t you follow the Storm?
That’s a big question and we’re happy to talk to you at length about it any time. Fact is most of us support Canberra because we grew up there, or studied there, or worked there at some point in our lives and realised that the Raiders are the greatest sporting team on Earth. Some people live in and around Melbourne though and just don’t like the Storm. It’s understandable. Going for the storm is like going for the Harlem Globetrotters. Is it really fun going for a team that alway finish in the top four?
Game day meet ups at The Great Northern questions
Why do you meet at The Great Northern Hotel?
A few reasons. Back in the day when we started it was just a relatively central pub that would show the NRL if we asked them to. It’s evolved over the years though. We’re not really married but we’ve been dating for so long it feels like we may as well be. In all seriousness it’s a good pub with good food and beer and they ALWAYS put the Raiders game on for us. One time the Raiders were playing during a particularly significant AFL game. The bar manager told people in the room they were changing the TV over to the NRL. One person replied “you’re kidding me? The NRL? This is Victoria! *insert large Victorian club name here* are playing and you’re switching the channel?”. The bar manager pointed at us and said “these guys are here every single week”. I wiped away a tear and realised this was a relationship that was going to last. Apart from that there is the fact that TGN has lots of screens, a good vibe and they show the games with the sound turned up.
I don’t know anyone, can I still come along?
100% yes. There is always a table booked under the name “Canberra Raiders”. Find this table and tell anyone sitting there that it’s your first time attending. You will have a bunch of new friends by the end of the game for sure.
Look for a table with a reserved sign like this
Does The Great Northern show every Raiders game?
In the years we’ve been going they’ve shown every one. 97% of the time we book the main bar and it gets shown on the two screen there (with sound!). There have been times when there haven’t been many of us booked (numbers tend to reflect recent form) and we’ve been up against a couple of other games. Sometimes on these occasions we’ve moved to their function room or another screen in the venue. Conversely, we’ve played finals games where every screen in the venue and the beer garden was showing the game. It all depends on how many of us book in. Booking is important. Check out the Do I need to book if I’m coming to the game? question below for info on booking.
Is The Great Northern a good place to watch Raiders games?
Yes. Big screens in every room. They always show our games – with sound. It’s a beautiful old school Melbourne pub in a central location. They do good food. They have good beer. I know I sound like I work for them (I don’t) but it’s just a great place to watch sport and they’re really supportive of our little venture. What more do you want?
Does it cost anything to attend?
To come and watch the game? No. Though we encourage people to have a meal and some drinks while there to say thanks to the pub. Most people do.
Where in The Great Northern do you meet?
We watch the vast majority of games in the main bar at the front of the pub. This room seats about 28 people and we’ve crammed almost 40 in there before. It’s a little fluid though based on how many people we’re expecting. We dream that we’ll grow huge and book the whole venue out every game… but we’ll cross that bridge what we come to it. For the moment we book in the main bar for most games. If it’s a really huge game though we might talk to the venue and get people to book in the bistro instead. We did that for the 2025 finals which we wont mention again on this site. Short story – check the calendar event on the website, check facebook or ask in the chat to confirm where we’re watching the game.
I’m just visiting Melbourne, can I join you for a game?
F*$k yes. We often have people visit us when they’re in town for work, visiting family, or are required to attend court. We love that we get to host visitors. If you can let us know you’re coming we can let you know if you need to book a table or not.
Do I need to book if I’m coming to a game?
Probably. We usually book at table or two depending on the game so there is space for the core group of us and for anyone who just turns up. If you’re rocking up with a bunch of your friends though you want to book your own table. As always, if you’re unsure, ask via the Messenger chat, Facebook or email us. If you do book make sure you mention that you’re booking to watch the Raiders game. That way the pub knows why you’re coming. You can book via The Great Norther’s website and this is how to let them know you’re with us:
when making a booking make sure you click “+Add” next to “Here to watch a game?” as shown above
Then check the Raiders… the only NRL team listed.
How does State of Origin work at TGN?
TGN goes off for State of Origin. It’s on all screens throughout the venue and beer garden. You can’t really go wrong. The Raiders Melbourne Crew will usually try and book tables together but there’s not a bad seat in the house really. Early booking is definitely a good move.
Are games at TGN child friendly?
We have a number of small humans attend our meet ups and they’re totally welcome. It is a pub and we are watching rugby league so, you know, there will be beer around and if someone like Ashley Klein is ref the chances of some casual swearing is pretty high. That said there are usually a few kids there. Some watching the game, some doing their own thing. They’re welcome is the main thing.
Are supporters of other clubs welcome?
Yes… but, look, we’re a Raiders supporters group. We want the pub as green as it can get. That said there are usually a few people who come along with their partner/friends who go for the opposition. This is totally encouraged… unless your team wins. Then we reserve the right to be grumpy and not talk to you. We hope you understand.
Annual Road Trip questions
What’s the deal with these road trips?
Each year we pick a round and head to Canberra for the game. “Road trip” is a bit of a loose term as we have flown up before as well. We usually nominate a round at the start of the season and then work out the details via Messenger.
How do I sign up for the road trips?
Jump on the chat or have a look at the calendar on the website. Let us know you’re keen and we’ll keep you across the discussion.
How do you decide what game to go to?
It’s popular choice but there are a few considerations that help us whittle the options down. It needs to be a Saturday home game as we can go up on Friday and come back Sunday. I guess a Sunday game could work too if we decided to fly and the return flights lined up. We usually go to a game in the second half of the year as it gives us time to organise ourselves. We’ve also tended to choose double headers when both the NRL and NRLW teams playing.
How do you get there?
We work it out as a group. We’ve hired transport and driven up Friday after work and driven back on Sunday before. We’ve also flown there and back. We work it out based on who is going. If there are enough people keen though we can split the cost of hiring transport.
Where do you stay?
Some of us stay in hotels close to the city. So of us stay with family. Again, it’s worked out based on who is going.
How do you get tickets?
One person books tickets for the group so we’re all sitting together.
Merchandise questions
How does the Merch store work?
The Merch store is a print on demand service called The Print Bar. They host the store portal which we’ve made look Raider-ie and we “design” the merch by uploading our images and positioning them on the clothing and stuff. When someone orders through the portal it goes to The Print Bar who print it and ship it. The payment all goes to TPB. We don’t put any mark up on it. If there is an issue with an order you can follow it up with TPB first. If this doesn’t resolve things email RMC and we’ll look into it for you.
What is the quality like?
We’ve found it pretty good. The clothing is mostly ASColour stuff so pretty decent quality without being Armani or Hugo Boss. The printing is pretty good too, particularly when you consider it’s print on demand. If you’re unsure then come along to a meet up and someone is likely to be wearing an example of our merch.
What if I have a problem with something I ordered?
Problems are pretty rare but they can happen. First step is to follow things up with The Print Bar. Details should have been emailed to you when you placed your order. If this doesn’t resolve things please email RMC and we can look into it for you.
Where does the money go?
We haven’t placed any mark up on the merch items so 100% of the purchase price goes to TPB. This helps keep the merch cheap.
Other questions
Are you aware of the Sydney Milk Syndicate?
Hell yes. Love those guys. If any Raiders Melbourne Crew peeps are in Sydney we will totally reach out to the Sydney Milk Syndicate and see how we can join in. Likewise, SMS people are always welcome at Raiders Melbourne Crew meet ups.
What are your thoughts on the 2019 grand final?
DON’T. F*&KING. ASK.