The season-ending knee injury to Josh Hodgson has put a knife in the Raiders title chances and could dramatically mark the closure of the club's premiership window, according to Phil Gould.
Gould believes Hodgson's ACL injury could be felt for years to come, declaring this season was the Raiders' best opportunity to end a 25-year premiership drought having made last year's grand final.
Canberra's injury woes reached breaking point on Saturday night when Hodgson was assisted from the field in the loss to Melbourne with a suspected ACL rupture, with the club confirming on Sunday their superstar hooker's campaign was over.
The loss to Melbourne - their third in the past four games - came at a further cost with Canberra also losing gun winger Bailey Simmonson to a season-ending shoulder injury.
MORE: V'landys calls emergency ARLC meeting amid new QLD border closures
The pair join a long-term casualty list already containing stars John Bateman (shoulder), Sia Soliola (facial fracture), Emre Guler (ankle), Corey Horsburgh (foot).
While Ricky Stuart's men now find themselves on the brink of falling out of the top eight and faced with a tough draw over the next month with clashes against the Roosters, Panthers and Rabbitohs fast-approaching.
While Gould still senses Canberra still possess the depth to scrape into the finals come October, he fears the injury to Hodgson will blow the club's biggest chance of winning a premiership.
"They can't win the comp, I still think they make the eight," Gould said on Channel Nine's 100% Footy.
"I still think they're in the top six sides in the competition despite the injuries but they can't win the competition.
"That might be the close on their window this time around for winning a premiership. I thought this year was going to be their year but it just hasn't worked out for them.
"But I still think they make the eight, they're better than a lot of the teams in the comp."
Gould isn't the only league heavyweight who's put a line through the Raiders after Hodgson's injury, with two-time premiership-winning great Billy Slater declaring their season over.
"[It's] a huge blow for their premiership chances," Slater said of Canberra's injury list on WWOS Radio.
"Josh Hodgson's the big one - everything revolves around Josh at number nine with their attack.
"I know Jack Wighton and George Williams has come over from England and done a fantastic job and they're going to need to stand up in the absence of Josh Hodgson for the rest of the year
"They've been in a bit of a hole for the last month but having no Josh Hodgon there I really can't see them going on to win the premiership from here.
"They might prove me wrong, but he is so important to their structures in attack. He's the heart and soul of the Green Machine."
MORE: Daley warns Barrett off Bulldogs gig
While the injuries continue to pile up for the Raiders, it's not the first time the club has been forced to battle on without their international rake.
Hodgson tore his ACL in his left knee during the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, which saw him miss the first half of Canberra's 2018 campaign, in which they struggled to compete without their talismanic number nine.
It spells trouble for Stuart's side, who as it is have shown patchy form since returning from the COVID-19 lock down back in May.
But following the 20-14 loss to the Storm at GIO Stadium, Stuart remained defiant over his side's chances of success this year and took aim at their critics.
“I don’t give a s*** what other people think," he said.
"We won’t get out heads down, I promise you. We won’t get our heads down.
“After that effort tonight with losing one of our key players...if I lost every other game of the season and I had that same effort we had tonight I’m a happy coach.
“That’s all I ask, that you just keep turning up and give me that effort tonight."
