Chloe Schibeci previews the Thursday night game between the Raiders and the Sharks at GIO Stadium.
TEAM FORM GUIDE
Canberra Raiders
The Raiders won their second consecutive game last Friday night after a 28-0 victory against the Wests Tigers at Bankwest Stadium.
Cronulla Sharks
The Sharks welcomed back Wade Graham in a dominant performance against the Parramatta Eels at PointsBet Stadium on Saturday night, winning by 20 points.
SQUAD NEWS
Canberra Raiders
Canberra coach Ricky Stuart has named the same 17-man squad that defeated the Tigers last week, however, Josh Papalii and Dunamis Liu have been named to start while Ryan Sutton and Sia Soliola have been moved to the bench.
Raiders’ Squad: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Bailey Simonsson, 3. Jarrod Croker, 4. Nick Cotric, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Aidan Sezer, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Siliva Havili, 10. Dunamis Liu, 11. John Bateman, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Joseph Tapine, 14. Tom Starling, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Iosia Soliola, 17. Ryan Sutton, 18. Sam Williams, 19. Royce Hunt, 20. Michael Oldfield, 21. Sebastian Kris
Cronulla Sharks
Josh Morris will make his return to the side after a week off following his Origin performance. Josh Dugan moves to the wing while Aaron Gray moves to the extended bench. Jayden Brailey has been replaced by brother Blayke, and Wade Graham will play off the bench. Shaun Johnson has been named on the extended bench.
Sharks’ Squad: 1. Matt Moylan, 2. Sosaia Feki, 3. Bronson Xerri, 4. Josh Morris, 5. Josh Dugan, 6. Kyle Flanagan, 7. Chad Townsend, 8. Andrew Fifita, 9. Blayke Brailey, 10. Matt Prior, 11. Briton Nikora, 12. Kurt Capewell, 13. Paul Gallen 14. Wade Graham, 15. Jayson Bukuya, 16. Jack Williams, 17. Braden Hamlin-Uele, 18. Aaron Gray, 19. Scott Sorensen, 20. Billy Magoulias, 21. Shaun Johnson
HEAD TO HEAD
The Raiders have won their last two games. Last weekend they won after an impressive and dominant performance against the Wests Tigers, defeating their opposition 28 points to nil. The weekend before, they won against the Bulldogs by just two points.
The Sharks were fresh off a bye round when they defeated the Eels by 20 points at home on Saturday night. They were able to welcome back Wade Graham, which was also a huge boost for the side.
The Sharks have won 10 of the last 18 matches against the Raiders, including the last two. The last time they met was at Cronulla’s home ground in round 19 of last season. It was a close, fairly even game, with the Sharks winning by only four points.
KEY BATTLE
There are a couple of important match-ups in the match between the Sharks and the Raiders. One of which is a battle of the centres; Jarrod Croker versus Josh Morris. Both Croker and Morris are talented players who are key players for their respective clubs so far this season. The two players have been scored five individual tries this year while tallying up a handful of try assists.
Croker has played each game this year, while Morris is coming back from a week away from club football after playing State of Origin last week. Both are strong players and could make a big difference for their clubs on Thursday night.
THE IMPORTANT DETAILS
Date: Thursday, June 13
Venue: GIO Stadium
Kick-off: 7:50 PM
Referee: Ashley Klein, Peter Gough
WHO WILL WIN?
The Raiders and the Sharks have been playing well recently and will challenge each other on Thursday night. It’ll be a close game, but a lot of points will be scored. Sharks by 2.
