Turf war on as rival codes head for unfamiliar territory.

(From Canberra Times)

Brumby Mark Chisholm reckons his biggest contribution will be a bit of ''niggle'' and Raider Alan Tongue says his Shane Warne mimic is all show.

If we are to accept all the reverse hype surrounding the skills of players in today's charity cricket match between the Brumbies and the Raiders, it looms as the weakest show of talent in the game's history.

But don't believe a word of it.

Canberra's elite footballers will come together in a bid to raise money for victims of the Boxing Day tsunami that swept across Asian coastlines.

And make no mistake, these blokes love their cricket. The Raiders could barely be torn away from the Manuka Oval nets on Friday afternoon in their one-off tune-up for the match.

''The other day at the training session it was like kids around a lolly jar,'' Tongue said. ''Everyone turned up lethargic after training but once we got started they couldn't stop us.'' Tongue, who will stride out today for his ''comeback'' match after a shoulder reconstruction sidelined him for the 2004 NRL season, was among the most enthusiastic of the Raiders, bowling his ...