Matt Attard previews the final game of Round 25: Canberra vs Canterbury-Bankstown.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Canberra Raiders Vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra.
Date: Sunday August 20, 4:00pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Raiders: 1. Jordan Rapana 2. Albert Hopoate 3. Jarrod Croker 4. Matthew Timoko 5. Nick Cotric 6. Jack Wighton 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Josh Papali’i 9. Zac Woolford 10. Joseph Tapine 11. Hudson Young 12. Elliott Whitehead 13. Corey Horsburgh 14. Tom Starling 15. Emre Guler 16. James Schiller 17. Ata Mariota 18. Trey Mooney 19. Matt Frawley 20. Ethan Strange 21. Brad Morkos 22. Adrian Trevilyan
Bulldogs: 1. Jake Averillo 2. Blake Wilson 3. Jacob Kiraz 4. Braidon Burns 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Matt Burton 7. Toby Sexton 8. Max King 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Liam Knight 11. Viliame Kikau 12. Corey Waddell 13. Ryan Sutton 14. Kyle Flanagan 15. Luke Thompson 16. Raymond Faitala-Mariner 17. Tevita Pangai Junior 19. Harrison Edwards 20. Kurtis Morrin 21. Jayden Okunbor 22. Hayze Perham 23. Reece Hoffman
Referee: Gerard Sutton
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
Both these teams come off disappointing losses, but it’s Ricky Stuart’s men who will feel more aggrieved considering their push for a top four spot.
Stuart blasted them in his press conference, while Cameron Ciraldo took a more relaxed approach to his full strength side looking like easybeats in their huge loss to Newcastle.
The Bulldogs have named a similar side to last week, close to full strength with the exception of the suspended Jacob Preston, on the back of Tevita Pangai Junior’s shock retirement announcement. Jarrod Croker – in what could be his farewell home game – returns for Canberra (in place of Ethan Strange), while Tom Starling replaces Adrian Trevilyan as the bench hooker.
It’s simply a matter of pride – particularly defensively – for the Bulldogs, who must win to ensure a bottom two spot is definitely not on the cards.
Canberra have the talent but tend to fall away in games. They’ll be full of confidence against a Bulldogs team who lacks any commitment in defence.
The Raiders beat the Bulldogs 34-30 in Magic Round: they led 32-18 after 58 minutes and 34-24 after 71, but a late try to Hayze Perham gave Canterbury a sniff, though Canberra hung on to win 34-30. Jordan Rapana scored two tries for Canberra, while Jacob Preston and Jake Averillo scored two each for the Bulldogs.
Jack Wighton could have a field day if he can unleash his running game, while it will be interesting to see if the Bulldogs pack led by Luke Thompson and Viliame Kikau will be able to stop Josh Papali’i and Corey Horsburgh.
LAST TEN MATCHES
Raiders 9, Bulldogs 1
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Raiders by 18 points.
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