Canberra Raiders V Parramatta Eels
Saturday 14 April 7:35pm
Canberra Stadium
Gates open: 5:00pm
Canberra Raiders Cup: Goulburn Bulldogs V Gungahlin Bulls, 5:15pm
Tickets: Click here
TV coverage: Fox League Channel 502
Radio: ABC, 2CC, Mix 106.3
Weather: Possible early storm. Showers. Very high chance of showers in the early morning and evening. The chance of a thunderstorm in the early morning. Mostly sunny day. Winds northwesterly 25 to 35 km/h increasing to 40 to 50 km/h in the morning then tending westerly 35 to 50 km/h in the evening. Chance of any rain: 90 per cent. Possible rainfall: 2 to 6 mm Min 11 Max 21
Round 5 2018. Canberra Raiders 26 - Canterbury Bulldogs 10. Finally a victory. It has been a long opening month of the competition, but the team responded to the very public criticism from the coach after the loss to the Sea Eagles. There was intensity and attitude in defence. There was some brilliant attack. There was physical and mental toughness in spades, with the team playing for a large part of the match with just one player on the bench. The Raiders had already had to deal with the late withdrawal of Jack Wighton. Then during the match, Canberra lost Ata Hingano, Michael Oldfield and Sam Williams to injury. But the team did not buckle when faced with adversity.
2018 Round 5 Canberra Raiders V Canterbury Bulldogs
More on Round 5: As I saw it
The Canberra Raiders again play at home in Round 6, facing the winless Parramatta Eels. With half Sam Williams (knee) on the sideline for between four to six weeks, Blake Austin returns to the team at five eighth, with Aidan Sezer named at half back. Jack Wighton also returns at fullback, after missing last week's game because of a new arrival in the family - and despite his off field legal issues. Nick Cotric moves back to the wing in place of Michael Oldfield. After being dropped to Mounties last week, Josh Papalii has been named in the top 17 on the bench, with Liam Knight moving to the reserves list.
Clint Gutherson returns for the Eels at fullback in his first match after an ACL reconstruction. Will Smith moves to the reserves. Bevan French has been named on the wing in place of Josh Hoffman. Lock Nathan Brown is out with an ankle injury, and is replaced by Tepai Moeroa. Kane Evans comes onto the bench. Peni Terepo has been included at starting prop, with Daniel Alvaro shifting to the bench.
Late changes: The Canberra Raiders omitted Jack Murchie and Brad Abbey from their squad on Friday night, leaving Liam Knight and Michael Oldfield on the reserves list. The Eels omitted Suaia Matagi and Josh Hoffman.
Matt's Match-ups: Click here
History: Canberra has won 27 of 56 games against the Parramatta Eels. The Raiders have won eight of the past 10 matches - and four of the past five. At Canberra Stadium, the Raiders have won 16 of 20 matches. The Eels have not won in Canberra since 2006 - and only one match since 2001. The Raiders won both contests in 2017.
Form: The Raiders have a LLLLW form line in their past five matches, while the Eels have lost all five of their opening matches in 2018. After the 54-0 defeat at the hands of the Sea Eagles in Round 2, the Eels have been improving, but not by enough to get a victory. The Eels lost 12-6 to the Panthers in Round 5.
Betting: The Raiders are $1.68 favourites in this match, while the Eels are paying $2.25. The Eels have a 4.0 points start in the line betting.
Stat attack: It is a clash between 13th and 16th on the ladder. The Raiders are averaging 23 points scored per match (fourth in the NRL), the Eels just nine (16th position). Canberra scores almost four tries per match on average, the Eels just under two. The Raiders have conceded an average of 24 points, which is the sixth worst defensive record in the league. However, the Eels' record is worse, conceding an average 27 points per match. Only the Titans have conceded more points.
The Raiders have averaged more running metres than the Eels (Raiders 1380 per match, Eels 1266) - but fewer kicking metres (Eels 440 per match, Raiders 404). The Raiders produce more offloads (9-7 per match), line breaks (5-3 per match) and tackle breaks (29-23 per match). Error rates are similar (Raiders 10, Eels 11 per match), while both have averaged 10 penalties conceded per match. The Raiders have the better completion rate (77-74 per cent).
Our tip: This is a danger game for the Raiders. The Eels will be desperate. They have not had a worse start to a season since 1991. The Eels produced a better performance last week and the inclusion of Gutherson is a big plus for them. But the Raiders have the better underlying form - and will be keen to build on their performance against the Bulldogs. With the home ground advantage, I'm tipping Raiders by six.
What they're saying:
Aidan Sezer on the Eels: "They're a quality team. They haven’t got the results they’ve been after but we’ll take that with a grain of salt. They’ll be very desperate when they come down here and in the times we've played them in the recent fixtures it’s been a very tough game. They’ve got a lot of quality across the park so we’ll have our work cut out for us."
Dunamis Lui on his return from an ACL injury: "I was a bit nervous to start the year, especially the Manly game, but I'm starting to find my feet. I am sort of forgetting about it now, the first few rounds it was on my mind especially changing directions I couldn't really trust it but it’s feeling good now."
Siliva Havili on playing almost 80 minutes against the Bulldogs: "The injuries gave me the opportunity that if it does come to that and I do have to play those minutes I know I've done it and I get through it. My goal here was to get a spot in the team, but with what we're going through at the moment my goal is to have more minutes as a player."
Canberra Raiders
1. Jack Wighton
2. Nick Cotric
3. Jarrod Croker (c)
4. Joey Leilua
5. Jordan Rapana
6. Blake Austin
7. Aidan Sezer
8. Sia Soliola
9. Siliva Havili
10. Junior Paulo
11. Joe Tapine
12. Elliott Whitehead
13. Luke Bateman
14. Ata Hingano
15. Shannon Boyd
16. Josh Papalii
17. Dunamis Lui
18. Liam Knight
19. Michael Oldfield
Parramatta Eels
1. Clint Gutherson
2. George Jennings
3. Michael Jennings
4. Kirisome Auva'a
5. Bevan French
6. Corey Norman
7. Mitchell Moses
8. Peni Terepo
9. Kaysa Pritchard
10. Tim Mannah (c)
11. Manu Ma'u
12. Tony Williams
13. Tepai Moeroa
14. Beau Scott
15. Kenny Edwards
16. Daniel Alvaro
17. Kane Evans
18. Will Smith
19. David Gower
Officials:
Referees: Matt Cecchin, Phil Henderson
Sideline Officials: Michael Wise, Drew Oultram
Video Referees: Ashley Klein, Ben Galea
Match Hashtags: #NRL #WeareRaiders #BleedGreen #NRLRaidersEels
The Greenhouse Hashtags: #WearGreen2018 #FromAllAngles
Mounties Jersey Flegg team: Click here
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45-55 KM North Westerly winds tonight 