Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 18 clash between the Canberra Raiders and the Newcastle Knights.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Canberra Raiders Vs Newcastle Knights
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
Date: Sunday July 7, 4:05pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Raiders: 1. Kaeo Weekes, 2. Jordan Rapana, 3. Matthew Timoko, 4. Albert Hopoate, 5. Xavier Savage, 6. Ethan Strange, 7. Adam Cook, 8. Josh Papali’i, 9. Tom Starling, 10. Joseph Tapine, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Morgan Smithies, 14. Danny Levi, 15. Ata Mariota, 16. Trey Mooney, 17. Simi Sasagi, 18. Sebastian Kris, 19. Zac Woolford, 20. Emre Guler, 21. James Schiller, 22. Hohepa Puru
Knights: 1. Kalyn Ponga, 2. Enari Tuala, 3. Dane Gagai, 4. Bradman Best, 5. Greg Marzhew, 6. Will Pryce, 7. Jackson Hastings, 8. Daniel Saifiti, 9. Jayden Brailey, 10. Leo Thompson, 11. Tyson Frizell, 12. Kai Pearce-Paul, 13. Adam Elliott, 14. Fletcher Sharpe, 15. Jacob Saifiti, 16. Brodie Jones, 17. Dylan Lucas, 18. Mathew Croker, 19. Jack Hetherington, 20. Jack Cogger, 21. Krystian Mapapalangi, 22. Thomas Cant
Referee:
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
Round 18 concludes in the nation’s capital with the Canberra Raiders taking on the Newcastle Knights.
The Sunday afternoon and national television broadcast slot hasn’t faired well for Canberra lately, and if their top eight hopes are going to remain a realistic chance, they are going to have to turn things around drastically against a Newcastle team who put on an impressive attacking display last week, beating Parramatta 34-26 in Newcastle.
Canberra haven’t made many personnel changes this week, but unfortunately last week’s debutant Jordan Martin is ineligible for selection this week due to concussion protocols after being ruled out during last week’s 16-6 loss to Melbourne. He will be replaced by former Knight Simi Sasagi, who will take his spot on the interchange bench. Seb Kris being named on the reserves indicates he is close to a return and we will see if he is a late call up for Sunday afternoon. Positional changes will be the thing to look out for, with the in-form Kaeo Weekes shifting from halfback to fullback, Adam Cook moving into halfback, and Jordan Rapana moving to wing.
The most exciting news coming into this game is Newcastle’s line-up changes, which is headlined by their captain and fullback Kalyn Ponga returning to the team. Fletcher Sharpe – who has hardly put a foot wrong – will drop to the interchange bench in jersey 14, while Phoenix Crossland is also ineligible for selection due to concussion protocols and will be replaced by Jayden Brailey in starting hooker.
There’s a couple of milestones being celebrated – with Canberra hooker Tom Starling bringing up his 100th Raiders match in the NRL (including one first grade game for Newcastle, he brought up his 100th NRL game overall last weekend), while for Newcastle second rower Tyson Frizell brings up his 250th game in the NRL. Milestone matches can bring out the best and worst in teams and with both sides having a player celebrating one it will be interesting to see which player has a smile on his face come full-time.
Last time these two teams met was round 1 this season in Newcastle where it was Canberra who found the victory in convincing 28-12 fashion. On that occasion Canberra put on a left-edge masterclass: seeing the likes of Hudson Young and Xavier Savage cross for tries. Speaking of Savage, his match-up with Greg Marzhew makes for an intriguing battle, as does Weekes up against Ponga.
If the weather gods are kind I expect to see a high-scoring match this Sunday afternoon to entertain us and close out the round. Until Canberra prove they can balance out a good attacking and defensive display, the Knights will rightfully go into this as favourites.
Head-to-head stats can be found at Number Crunch Stats.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Check out all the NRL Predictions here.
Knights by 4 points.
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