Canberra Raiders Cheer Off....

Raiderettes hopefuls are ready to bring it on for the 2014 NRL season

The Raiderettes had their nails painted lime green, but the traditional cheerleaders of NRL club the Canberra Raiders denied their claws were out.

The pom-poms, human pyramids, backflips and clapping rhymes made it look like a re-enactment of the cult cheerleading film Bring It On, but the Raiderettes were happy to let the best team win as they were asked to audition for their old jobs on Friday night.

And Raiders fans shouting ''give me a different game-day experience'', shouldn't expect too much change as five dance squads squared off for the right to officially cheer on the Green Machine in 2014.

The Raiderettes performed without their uniforms, which are the property of the Raiders, but decorated their nails in club colours of green and blue. It was a different show of hands, choreographer Mischa Calnan said, that proved the Raiderettes were not bitter about the possibility of getting high-kicked out.

''When I asked the girls who still wanted to do it, every single one put their hands up,'' Calnan, a Raiderette since 2009, said.

''It was a bit of a shock to find out it was a different system this year. But I do like the idea of getting a new look towards it. 'I want to bring it up in standard too, it's good to keep us on our toes.''

The Raiderettes may face fierce competition from Sirens Cheerleaders, Canberra's dedicated American-style cheersquad that has 130 members based in Mitchell and won national titles in Melbourne last year.
It looked a bit like the 1987 grand final, Sirens wearing the silver and maroon colours of the Manly Sea Eagles as they competed against the Raiderettes.

''We'll definitely be wearing the green and blue if we get the chance to rock out,'' assured Sirens coach Rianna Macdougall. ''[Sport cheerleading] is just like Bring It On right down to losing my spankies and the hairspray. We love, love, love our sport. Once you get involved it's very addictive. We had 5000 competitors at nationals last year; it's becoming a real big deal in Australia.''

Sirens also included the only two males in the trials, Elwyn Teki and Mark McGrath, who wouldn't be too keen to retain the name Raiderettes.

''Probably not,'' Teki said. ''I just started doing adult gymnastics and we often train in the same area as cheerleaders, so a lot of us guys got recruited that way.''

A decision has been reserved for video analysis, with Jayz Dance Company and Michelle Gomez Cheerleading Group and Rogue Dolls Australia also among the auditions.

This judge's opinion - I'm usually in line at the canteen when the main entertainment (rugby league) breaks anyway.