Here are the stats that prove the Canberra Raiders are a far improved team from last year.
While the Raiders will miss the finals for the third straight season irrespective of Sunday's game against the Parramatta Eels, a number of key statistics reveal how the club is on the way up ahead of their last game this year.
The Raiders have improved in points scored, try assists, line breaks, running metres, total errors, completion rate, dummy-half runs and support runs.
That is offset, however, by an increase in the amount of penalties conceded, a drastic drop-off in decoy runs and a reduction in tackle breaks.
Raiders halfback Sam Williams said the club's new additions - such as himself, Blake Austin, Josh Hodgson and Sia Soliola - took time to blend with the existing players.
"We always felt throughout the year we were improving nearly every game with combinations and just playing more as a team," Williams said.
"It's made a really big difference.
"We've got a lot of new faces and we're 12 months on from where we were this time last year, so I certainly think there's a lot of improvement there."
The Raiders could finish as high as ninth on the ladder if they beat the Eels and Manly lose to the Sharks on Sunday.
Victory over the Eels would be the Raiders' 10th win for the season and two more than last year, which was coach Ricky Stuart's first season in charge.
The Raiders' attack has risen sharply behind the halves duo of Austin and Williams, averaging 23.9 points per game compared to 18.8 last year.
They have scored 92 tries (up from 76), have 70 try assists (up from 61), more line breaks (97 to 87), a better completion rate (72.6 per cent to 77.9 per cent) and a rise in support runs (from 68.7 to game to 100.2).
Running metres have increased more than 128m per game while there have been significant improvements in post-contact metres (488.7m to 533.6m) and dummy-half metres (92.6m per game to 122.7m).
Hodgson and back-up hooker Kurt Baptiste have formed a great combination at dummy-half.
"In terms of our running metres, Josh Hodgson has been really good in getting us on the front foot," Williams said.
"It's a willingness to work with your leg drive after contact which in the grand scheme of things have helped overall with the metres gained."
Errors have come down considerably this season, from 10.3 per game last year to 8.7 this season.
It's not all good news.
The Raiders have conceded 6.8 penalties a game compared to 5.6 this time last year and have also missed more tackles - 28.2 from 25.8 - per game.
"Discipline is a big thing these days and there's a lot of little things around the ruck that the referees are really scrutinising and are clamping down on," Williams said.
"It's something over the pre-season I'm sure we will look at and find a little bit more discipline in our game."
RAIDERS STATS (after round 25) - Provided by Prozone
Improvements
Points scored per game: Last year: 18.8. This year: 23.9
Tries scored per game: Last year: 3.3. This year: 4
Try assists: Last year: 2.7. This year: 3
Line breaks: Last year: 3.8. This year: 4.2
Running metres: Last year: 1412.5m. This year: 1540.3m
Post-contact metres: Last year: 488.7m. This year: 533.6m
Dummy-half metres: Last year: 92.6m. This year: 122.7m
Made tackles: Last year: 322.3. This year: 344.2
Handling errors: Last year: 4.6. This year: 4
Kicking errors: Last year: 0.95. This year: 0.6
Total errors: Last year: 10.3. This year: 8.7
Completion rate: Last year: 72.6 per cent. This year: 77.9 per cent.
Support runs: Last year: 68.7. This year: 100.2
Needs work
Offloads: Last year: 11.2. This year: 10.6
Tackle breaks: Last year: 24.6. This year: 24.1
Missed tackles: Last year: 25.8. This year: 28.2
Penalties conceded: Last year: 5.6. This year: 6.8
Decoys: Last year: 44.2. This year: 25.3
