Joshua Knox previews the clash between the Raiders and the Titans on Saturday night. Here’s what we have to look forward to.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Canberra Raiders Vs Gold Coast Titans
Venue: GIO Stadium
Date: Saturday March 26 7:35pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Related: NRL Team List Tuesday
Embed from Getty ImagesRaiders: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Nick Cotric 3. Matthew Timoko 4. Semi Valemei 5. Jordan Rapana 6. Jack Wighton 7. Brad Schneider 8. Josh Papali’i 9. Tom Starling 10. Joseph Tapine 11. Hudson Young 12. Corey Harawira-Naera 13. Elliott Whitehead 14. Matt Frawley 15. Emre Guler 16. Adam Elliott 17. Corey Horsburgh 18. Xavier Savage 19. Ryan Sutton 20. Adrian Trevilyan 21. Sebastian Kris 22. Sam Williams 23. Trey Mooney 24. Harry Rushton
Nick Cotric and Jordan Rapana return to the side on the wings with James Schiller and Seb Kris dropping out.
Brad Schneider is back in the No.7 following his COVID protocols seeing Matt Frawley go to the bench and Adrian Trevilyan to the reserves.
Embed from Getty ImagesTitans: 1. Jayden Campbell 2. Phillip Sami 3. Brian Kelly 4. Patrick Herbert 5. Greg Marzhew 6. Alexander Brimson 7. Toby Sexton 8. Moeaki Fotuaika 9. Erin Clark 10. Isaac Liu 11. David Fifita 12. Beau Fermor 13. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui 14. Will Smith 15. Sam Lisone 16. Jaimin Jolliffe 17. Kevin Proctor 18. Herman Ese’ese 19. Esan Marsters 20. Jarrod Wallace 21. Sam McIntyre 22. Jamayne Isaako 23. Paul Turner 24. Sosefo Fifita
The Titans have had the luxury of naming the same 17 that got the win over the Warriors in round two.
New signing Jamayne Isaako has been listed among the reserves.
Referee: Chris Sutton
MATCHDAY PREVIEW
The Raiders will be looking to right their wrongs after a disappointing 26-6 defeat to the North Queensland Cowboys in round two. Going into the break at 8-6 down, there was everything to play for in the second half. The second half saw the Raiders lack direction and were ultimately outplayed by a Cowboys outfit that many pundits had finishing with the spoon in 2022.
The additions of Rapana and Cotric are timely however the addition of halfback Brad Schneider will excite Raiders fans the most. Schneider was strong in the round one victory over the Cronulla Sharks compiling a strong 31 tackles and having a hand in some exciting attacking play. He will need to be at his best defensively with the potential of having big David Fifita running at him on Saturday night.
The Titans registered their first win of the season taking down the New Zealand Warriors 20-18 on the Gold Coast. The Titans looked like world beaters at stages and bottom four contenders at others and were ultimately lucky to scrape away with a win to kickstart their campaign.
The man to watch for the Titans is five-eighth Alexander Brimson who had a successful start in his new position against the Warriors. Brimson had two try assists, three tackle breaks and a line break as he looked at home in the front line for the Gold Coast. Like Schneider, it could be the defence that comes under the spotlight with the Raiders boasting a strong forward pack full of representative players.
The honours were split in 2021 with both sides gaining a victory. The Titans however had the last laugh, beating the Raiders 44-6 in Canberra on a low night for the Raiders faithful.
INTERESTING FACT
The Raiders hold a slight advantage in the head-to-head between the two sides with 14 victories and 13 losses to the Titans.
Despite sitting outside the top eight after two rounds, the Gold Coast Titans boast the tied best points scored to begin the competition.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Titans by 14.
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