Check out the match preview and prediction for the 2025 National Rugby League round 3 clash between the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and the Canberra Raiders.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles vs Canberra Raiders
Venue: 4 Pines Park, Sydney
Date: Sunday 23 March 6:15pm (ADST)
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Sea Eagles: 1. Tom Trbojevic 2. Jason Saab 3. Tolutau Koula 4. Reuben Garrick 5. Lehi Hopoate 6. Luke Brooks 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Taniela Paseka 9. Jazz Tevaga 10. Siosiua Taukeiaho 11. Haumole Olakau’atu 12. Ben Trbojevic 13. Jake Trbojevic. INT: 14. Jake Simpkin 15. Corey Waddell 16. Ethan Bullemor 17. Josh Aloiai 18. Tommy Talau 19. Clayton Faulalo 20. Jake Arthur 21. Nathan Brown 22. Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega.
Raiders : 1. Kaeo Weekes 2. Savelio Tamale 3. Matthew Timoko 4. Seb Kris 5. Xavier Savage 6. Ethan Strange 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Josh Papalii 9. Tom Starling 10. Corey Horsburgh 11. Hudson Young 12. Matty Nicholson 13. Morgan Smithies. INT: 14. Owen Pattie 15. Simi Sasagi 16. Trey Mooney 17. Ata Mariota 18. Danny Levi 19. Albert Hopoate 20. Pasami Saulo 21. Jed Stuart 22. Ethan Sanders.
Referee: Grant Atkins
Bunker:
MATCHDAY PREVIEW
Canberra will look to carry the momentum gained from beating the Pre-Season Challenge winners Brisbane to 4 Pines Park where they face a Manly team who looked outstanding in round 1, and then fell off in round 2 – losing to the Warriors in New Zealand.
The biggest question for Manly going into this game is will Tom Trbojevic be fit to play? Coach Anthony Seibold seems to think it’s a “50-50” chance and has still named him at fullback on Tuesday afternoon. The distractions don’t stop there for Manly: halfback Daly Cherry-Evans was also sent for scans, but has been cleared of any serious injury and named to play. Other changes to the Sea Eagles line up this week includes Tolutau Koula returning from a thigh contusion, Siosiua Taukeiaho (knee) starting at prop, and Josh Aloiai moving to the bench to accommodate him.
For Canberra their biggest question was who does Xavier Savage (suspension) replace on the wing upon his return? Unfortunately for Albert Hopoate, he vacates the spot for Xavier while Savelio Tamale retains his spot. Tamale has been a fantastic signing for Canberra: important carries inside his own half and willingness to do the “nitty gritty” has obviously caught the respect of coach Ricky Stuart. Other team news for Canberra include Zac Hosking on the injury report: Hosking has had zero luck on the injury front so far during his time at the Raiders and will miss some time with his hand injury. 21-year-old Matty Nicholson gets the starting second row spot after impressing with two tries on his debut last week.
Last time these two teams met in Manly the game looked like not only was it going to be a wash out, it was also going to be a blow out as well with Manly taking an early 20-0 lead. Miraculously, Canberra came back to win 26-24 after a late try to Hudson Young. However, Manly had the last laugh in round 23 last year, pulling off a 46-24 revenge rout in Canberra.
I’ll highlight two key match-ups for this game because this first match up is apparently only a 50-50 chance of happening: Kaeo Weekes vs Tom Trbojevic. Weekes was let go by Manly, and despite a quiet two games to start 2025, has look like a career revival will be a certainty in green. There will be no better stage for him to get his year going by putting on a show against his former team, in front of those who doubted him long term. Tom Trbojevic when healthy is arguably the best player in the completion, against Canberra he now has 15 tries in his last 12 matches, the definition of dominance.
The second key match-up is the battle of the halves, Daly Cherry Evans vs Jamal Fogarty. Both these halfbacks have elite kicking games and game management. Whenever these two teams are missing these two players, they look lost and aren’t even close to their best. Who will win this battle? We will find out on Sunday evening when round 3 comes to a close in Manly.
Manly looked scary good at home in their season opener, and Canberra have looked locked in during their opening two games. I’ll give the home side the benefit of the doubt in this one and tip Manly by 4, but if Canberra bring the same intensity in defence they can certainly start 3-0.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Sea Eagles by 4 points.
Check out all the NRL Predictions here.
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