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2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 23, 2020, 12:04 pm
by greeneyed
2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day



Canberra Raiders V Parramatta Eels
Saturday June 27 7:35pm
Western Sydney Stadium
TV coverage: Fox League Channel 502
Radio: ABC, Mix 106.3, 2CC
Weather: Partly cloudy. Slight (20%) chance of a shower. Light winds. Chance of any rain: 30 per cent. Possible rainfall: 0 to 0.4 mm Min 8 Max 17

The Canberra Raiders travel again to Sydney this weekend... this time for their Round 7 clash with the Parramatta Eels at Western Sydney Stadium.

Last time: 2020 Round 6. Manly Sea Eagles 14 - Canberra Raiders 6. It was a disappointing performance from the Raiders. Seriously disappointing - not least because it was against a Sea Eagles outfit that started the game depleted by injury, and that ended the game with one player on the bench. Manly lost two players, five eighth Dylan Walker and Brad Parker inside the first five minutes. They then lost star fullback Tom Trbojevic less than five minutes into the second half - but not before he'd set up a 12-0 half time lead for the "visitors". It proved to be a match winning lead.



More on Round 6: As I saw it

Team news: Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has elected not to change his team from the one which lost to the Sea Eagles. Brad Takairani has been named in place of Peni Terepo on the Eels' interchange bench. Parramatta lock Nathan Brown failed to have a two match suspension overturned on Tuesday night.

Late changes: The Canberra Raiders ruled out Joe Tapine on Friday with a minor knee injury, after he failed to complete the captains' run. Hudson Young has been named in the second row, and Bailey Simonsson has been included on the bench. However, Stuart has said he'll take a final decision on the forward reshuffle on Saturday. Another option would be to shift Corey Horsburgh to the second row, and start Ryan Sutton at lock. Matt Frawley has been omitted from the squad of 21.

The Eels have announced Marata Niukore will start in place of Nathan Brown (suspended), with Daniel Alvaro coming onto the bench.

History: Canberra has won 31 of 59 games against the Parramatta Eels. The Raiders have lost just three times to the Eels in the past 10 matches. Canberra were on a five game winning streak against Parramatta, before falling to the Eels 22-16 in their last meeting at Darwin. The teams have not yet met at the new Western Sydney Stadium, but Canberra won just eight of 22 games played at its previous incarnation, Parramatta Stadium.


2019 Round 15: Canberra Raiders V Parramatta Eels


2019 Round 5: Canberra Raiders V Parramatta Eels


2018 Round 6: Canberra Raiders V Parramatta Eels

Form: Raiders: WWLWL
Eels: WWWWL

The Eels suffered their first defeat of 2020 last weekend, losing to the Roosters 24-10 at Western Sydney Stadium. The Raiders have not won two games in a row since the resumption of the season.

Betting: The Eels are $1.76 favourites, while the Raiders are paying $2.07. The Raiders have 2.5 points start in the line betting. The Raiders' odds have shorten over the week.

Stat attack: This is a battle between first (Eels) and fifth (Raiders) on the ladder. The Raiders attack has been stuttering, and they now rank ninth in the NRL for points and tries scored. The free flowing Eels have been dropping down in the attacking rankings, since posting big scores against the Eels and Broncos. They now sit just outside the top four attacking teams. The Eels have had a glut of possession so far in 2020 (first in the NRL, Raiders 13th) and they love to use the ball and run. They rank fourth in the NRL for running metres (Raiders ninth), first for offloads (Raiders 14th), second for tackle breaks (Raiders seventh) and second for line breaks (Raiders sixth). The Eels are first in the NRL for general play passes, the Raiders dead last. The Raiders are much more conservative in attack these days. They like making dummy half runs (third in the NRL, Eels 15th) and one pass hit ups (second in the NRL, Eels third).

Both teams have good defensive records, ranked in the top three teams. Both teams miss a fair few tackles (Raiders fifth, Eels sixth), but their ineffective tackle counts are low, and their tackle efficiency rates aren't bad. Josh Hodgson now leads the NRL for missed tackles (33)... but the Eels' Waqa Blake (25) is not far behind, ranking fourth. Where the Raiders are really falling down is in errors (third in the NRL, Eels seventh) and penalties conceded (fifth, Eels 15th). Josh Hodgson and Joe Tapine lead the NRL for penalties conceded (six apiece). The Eels are second for the fewest penalties conceded, behind the Sea Eagles.

The Raiders rank third in the competition for total kick metres, the Eels fifth. The Raiders are fourth for long kicks (Eels equal 10th) and first for weighted kicks (Eels fifth). The Eels lead the league for forced line drop outs (16, compared with eight for the Raiders). Look for both teams to use kicks as a weapon on Saturday, through Moses, Williams, Hodgson and Wighton.

2020 Season record: Raiders 4 and 2 (5th, +32)
Eels 5 and 1 (1st, +64)

Attack: Raiders 17 points and 3 tries scored per match, ranked 9th on tries scored
Eels 22 points and 4 tries scored per match, ranked 5th on tries scored

Defence: Raiders 12 points and 2 tries conceded per match, ranked 3rd
Eels 11 points and 2 tries conceded per match, ranked 2nd

Possession: Raiders 48 per cent, Eels 56 per cent

Completion rate: Raiders 77 per cent, Eels 78 per cent

Running: Raiders 1681 running metres from 177 runs (13 dummy half runs), 175 kick return metres, 558 post contact metres per match
Eels 1897 running metres from 199 runs (8 dummy half runs), 245 kick return metres, 597 post contact metres per match

Tackle breaks: Raiders 31, Eels 37 per match

Line breaks: Raiders 3, Eels 4 per match

Try assists: Raiders 2, Eels 2 per match

Line break assists: Raiders 2, Eels 2 per match

Offloads: Raiders 7, Eels 17 per match

Kicking: Raiders 610 kicking metres from 22 kicks per match
Eels 592 kicking metres from 22 kicks per match

Tackling: Raiders 353 made, 31 missed, 13 ineffective per match, 89 per cent tackle efficiency
Eels 308 made, 30 missed, 13 ineffective per match, 88 per cent tackle efficiency

Running metres conceded: Raiders 1455, Eels 1283 metres per match

Errors: Raiders 12, Eels 11 per match

Penalties conceded: Raiders 6, Eels 4 per match

Key match-ups:

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Clint Gutherson. After a break out season in 2019, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad is finding the going a bit tougher in 2020. Opposition teams are targeting him with bombs and are aiming to cut down his space for kick returns. He's still producing lots of running metres, maybe not as many as 2019, but he's still in the top five players in the NRL that score (1216 metres from 127 runs). He's also top five for kick return metres (344). However, his opponent this week, Clint Gutherson ranks first in the competition for both running metres (1288) and kick return metres (504). Overall Gutherson has had the stronger start to 2020. He has two tries, 15 tackle breaks, one try assist and four line breaks. Nicoll-Klokstad has one try, 16 tackle breaks and no line breaks or try assists. The Raiders will be looking for CNK to lift his attacking threat this week.

Nick Cotric and Maika Sivo. Fijian winger Maika Sivo finished top of the try scoring list in his debut season with the Eels in 2019. He's down the list so far in 2020, having scored three - which is level with his Raiders opponent in this match, Nick Cotric. In 2020, Sivo has two try assists, 17 tackle breaks, four line breaks and an average 139 running metres. Cotric has moved to the right wing this season, and he's had issues building a defensive combination with centre partner Curtis Scott. Cotric has five try causes and Sivo two - even though Cotric has the better tackle efficiency (81 per cent versus 63 per cent). Cotric is a damaging runner, ranking equal second in the NRL for tackle breaks (38), just behind David Nofoaluma (39) and level with James Tedesco. But he'll probably be looking to lift his involvement rates. Cotric has one try assist, three line breaks and an average 116 running metres this year.

George Williams and Mitchell Moses. Mitchell Moses is maturing as a halfback and is one of the highest profile halves in the competition. But George Williams shapes up pretty well in this contest. In 2020, Moses has one try, two try assists, four offloads, 10 forced line drop outs and 79 running metres and 410 kicking metres per game. Williams is yet to score an NRL try, but he has six try assists, one line break assist, two offloads, three forced line drop outs and 76 running metres and 247 kicking metres per game. Moses ranks third in the NRL for kicking metres, second for total kicks and first for forced line drop outs. Most of the Eels' kicking comes from Moses, so the Raiders will need to try and close him down. Williams has a very good short kicking game, and he could easily have picked up a couple more try assists last week with his cross field kicks. Williams has the advantage in defence (an effective tackle rate of 88 per cent, compared with 78 per cent for Moses) - though both have two try causes to their name. Williams didn't have his best game last week, so he'll be looking to rebound in this one.

Josh Papalii and Junior Paulo. Former Raiders prop, Junior Paulo, comes up against his old team this week. Paulo's fitness, error rate and lateral movement were issues at the Raiders in 2018. But in 2020, he looks fitter and has found his mojo again in Eels colours. So far this year, Paulo has 18 tackle breaks, 337 post contact metres, an average 159 running metres and 22 tackles per game and a 93 per cent tackle efficiency rate. Paulo ranks equal second in the competition for offloads 17), behind team mate Ryan Matterson. Papalii has a try, 19 tackle breaks, 324 post contact metres, 147 running metres and 32 tackles per game and a 97 per cent tackle efficiency rate. His game is almost error free. All round, Papalii is the better player for mine, but, like most Raiders, he'll be looking to lift on his performance in the loss to the Sea Eagles.

Our tip: The Eels are deserved favourites in this match. The Raiders have quite a few things to fix, in particular, the right side defence, attacking cohesion, and discipline - the errors, re-starts and penalties conceded. They have quite a way to lift if they're to come close to Parramatta. The can do it, as the Raiders at their best are up with the best. The Green Machine certainly lifted the intensity and effort after the loss to the Knights. But the issues of recent weeks are a bit more difficult to address. Until we see some turnaround on the field, it is hard for me to go past the Eels in this one. Eels by six... and with the new rules, I wouldn't rule out a bigger margin.

What they're saying:

Ricky Stuart: "We are struggling with attack. We can see what our issues are and we have got to fix it quickly. We have got to get a bit more football first but even when we have got the football, when we are attacking, since we have come back from the break, we have been poor offensively. It is certainly not a time now to be throwing everything out and starting all over again. We are not far away and it can be fixed quickly."

Jack Wighton: "Cracker game coming up. We'll go and have a look. It's all things we can fix definitely. We fixed the energy problem and turning up for each other after that Newcastle game where we just weren't on the park. "

Canberra Raiders

1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
2. Jordan Rapana
3. Jarrod Croker (C)
4. Curtis Scott
5. Nick Cotric
6. Jack Wighton
7. George Williams
8. Josh Papalii
9. Josh Hodgson (C)
10. Sia Soliola
17. Hudson Young
12. Elliott Whitehead
13. Corey Horsburgh

14. Siliva Havili
15. Emre Guler
16. Ryan Sutton
18. Bailey Simonsson

19. Dunamis Lui
21. Tom Starling

Injury/Suspension

Joe Tapine, Knee (TBA)
John Bateman, Shoulder (Indefinite)
Andre Niko, Knee (Season)
Sebastian Kris, Extended sick leave

Parramatta Eels

1. Clinton Gutherson
2. Maika Sivo
3. Michael Jennings
4. Waqa Blake
5. Blake Ferguson
6. Dylan Brown
7. Mitchell Moses
8. Regan Campbell-Gillard
9. Reed Mahoney
10. Junior Paulo
11. Shaun Lane
12. Ryan Matterson
15. Marata Niukore

14. Ray Stone
16. Orgegon Kaufusi
17. Brad Takairangi
19. Daniel Alvaro

18. David Gower
20. George Jennings

b]Officials[/b]

Referee: Ashley Klein
Touch judges: Gavin Badger, Todd Smith
Video referees: Jared Maxwell, Bryan Norrie

Match Hashtags: #NRL #WeareRaiders #NRLEelsRaiders

The Greenhouse Hashtags: #WearGreen2020 #FromAllAngles

Image

Plus follow us on Twitter: @TheGHRaiders and Instagram: @TheGHRaiders[/color][/size][/b]

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 26, 2020, 1:50 pm
by greeneyed
@TheGHRaiders on Twitter

UPDATED MATCH PREVIEW: Canberra Raiders forward Joe Tapine ruled out clash with Parramatta Eels, Hudson Young to start. Latest team news, squads, odds, weather: http://ow.ly/h3Gk50Aih8e

#NRL #WeAreRaiders #wearecbr #NRLEelsRaiders

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 7:43 am
by Ilanraiders
Game day!! Go the Raiders

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 8:09 am
by Kryptonite
Game Day Daft Punks!
Cmon Raiders!

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 8:14 am
by Matt
When will we hear about the review into the Bankwest surface?

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 8:33 am
by RichmondRaider
There needs to be an investigation

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 8:54 am
by LastRaider
I’m not feeling one bit confident about today. All I know is we need to score first if we are a chance of winning today

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 9:09 am
by 1992
Game day you beta Bois.

Game might not go ahead...

Pitch inspection to decide fate of next Western Sydney Stadium match

The playing surface at Western Sydney Stadium will require independent clearance before Saturday's Eels-Raiders match goes ahead.

"If we have any concerns around the safety of the pitch then we'll move the [Eels v Raiders] game," Abdo said.

Read more: https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/06/26/rad ... ee-injury/

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 9:19 am
by Sid
If only there were some sort of ‘not torn up’ ground in a coronavirus free territory close to where the Raiders players live that we could’ve been using

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 9:20 am
by Azza
LastRaider wrote: June 27, 2020, 8:54 am I’m not feeling one bit confident about today. All I know is we need to score first if we are a chance of winning today
I agree I don't give us much chance. Which is why I think we'll win

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 9:47 am
by TongueFTW
Pretty big game this early in the season.

We have had success against Parra when we have kicked deep and limited metres from their back 3. Wighton needs to do most of the kicking today and lead the kick chase. If you make them ruck it out of their own territory, they start looking for the easy way out with risky offloads, which can lead to mistakes. They have a pretty big pack - set restarts are a killer against teams like Parra (though, to be fair, against all teams). Mahoney has a neat kicking game out of dummy half, so our marker defence needs to be on top of that. In attack, target Moses on the edge for a quick play the ball. I also think we have a slight edge with our bench, though Young coming into the starting side dampens that a bit. Imperative our starters match them early - they aren’t comfortable chasing the game, again they tend to make mistakes and take needless risks. Start is crucial.

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 9:48 am
by gangrenous
Sid wrote:If only there were some sort of ‘not torn up’ ground in a coronavirus free territory close to where the Raiders players live that we could’ve been using
It would also have to be already preparing to host a game in the next week or it wouldn’t be COVID ready you’d imagine.

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 9:53 am
by Raider Azz
1992 wrote:Game day you beta Bois.

Game might not go ahead...

Pitch inspection to decide fate of next Western Sydney Stadium match

The playing surface at Western Sydney Stadium will require independent clearance before Saturday's Eels-Raiders match goes ahead.

"If we have any concerns around the safety of the pitch then we'll move the [Eels v Raiders] game," Abdo said.

Read more: https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/06/26/rad ... ee-injury/
It will go ahead, they'll probably just move it to Campbelltown.

Sent from my SM-N976B using Tapatalk


Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 11:32 am
by greeneyed
NRL gives Western Sydney Stadium the green light for Saturday clash between Parramatta Eels and Canberra Raiders

The NRL has given the go-ahead for Saturday night’s clash between the Eels and Raiders at Western Sydney Stadium following a pitch inspection.

Just hours after Sydney Roosters players Victor Radley and Sam Verrills suffered season-ending knee injuries, the NRL booked in an inspection for Saturday morning. Channel Nine reporter Danny Weidler tweeted that the inspection was passed.

Read more: https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-pr ... 5a4c8f4e70

Also just confirmed on ABC Canberra Grandstand by Raiders media manager Ben Pollack. The team is flying to Sydney today for the match.

Play on: Western Sydney Stadium turf cleared for blockbuster after Roosters injuries: https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/06/26/rad ... ee-injury/

VIDEO: Do the Raiders need to re-invent their attack? https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/06/27/do- ... ir-attack/

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 11:41 am
by Raider Azz
They're flying? I thought we were only allowed to fly for home games.

Sent from my SM-N976B using Tapatalk


Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 11:52 am
by Northern Raider
I have a feeling about this game

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 11:55 am
by greeneyed
Raider Azz wrote: June 27, 2020, 11:41 am They're flying? I thought we were only allowed to fly for home games.

Sent from my SM-N976B using Tapatalk
It is a standard entitlement for away games... oh, it's a joke! :lol:

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 11:55 am
by greeneyed
Northern Raider wrote: June 27, 2020, 11:52 am I have a feeling about this game
What is it?

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 12:54 pm
by Raiders666
I have a feeling also

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 12:55 pm
by Raiders666
We could honestly win or lose this

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 1:36 pm
by BJ
Raiders666 wrote:We could honestly win or lose this
Agreed if you include draw.

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 2:14 pm
by Green Taipan
Surprisingly, I feel confident; not favourites and not FTA. Scott to have a blinder cause Ricky reckons it's due.

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 2:14 pm
by Sid
BJ wrote:
Raiders666 wrote:We could honestly win or lose this
Agreed if you include draw.
Given the turf situation you could also throw a ‘no result’ into the mix too.

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 2:24 pm
by BadnMean
It will be a game of two halves, that's for sure.

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 2:28 pm
by -PJ-
I'm loudly confident..

I'm sure the boys have talked over a few issues the last week or so and will come out firing..

2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 2:28 pm
by gangrenous
BadnMean wrote:It will be a game of two halves, that's for sure.
Or four halves by position

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 3:52 pm
by BadnMean
gangrenous wrote: June 27, 2020, 2:28 pm
BadnMean wrote:It will be a game of two halves, that's for sure.
Or four halves by position
:clap:

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 3:52 pm
by 1992
I still have faith in the boys that this is not 2017 all over again.
Last time we made back to back finals was 2003-2004. That is pathetic.

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 4:54 pm
by Azza
Northern Raider wrote: June 27, 2020, 11:52 am I have a feeling about this game
Can I borrow a feeling?


But yeah, I agree. We'll win.

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 5:16 pm
by Mickey_Raider
Feel way more confident about this week than last week now that everyone thinks we are **** again.

I take some solace in the fact that even in our pathetic form, we are still a top 8 team...even a moderate improvement puts us back in the mix I think, and from there you can build towards the business end of the year.

Would be great to get a rousing win tonight to get the belief back. I definitely feel a couple % more smug about life when the Raiders are a good team.

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 5:42 pm
by The Greenhouse
Welcome to our coverage of tonight's NRL clash between the Canberra Raiders and Parramatta Eels at Western Sydney Stadium. Here are the final teams... both have confirmed the top 17 as named on Friday:

Canberra Raiders

1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
2. Jordan Rapana
3. Jarrod Croker (C)
4. Curtis Scott
5. Nick Cotric
6. Jack Wighton
7. George Williams
8. Josh Papalii
9. Josh Hodgson (C)
10. Sia Soliola
17. Hudson Young
12. Elliott Whitehead
13. Corey Horsburgh

14. Siliva Havili
15. Emre Guler
16. Ryan Sutton
18. Bailey Simonsson

Parramatta Eels

1. Clinton Gutherson
2. Maika Sivo
3. Michael Jennings
4. Waqa Blake
5. Blake Ferguson
6. Dylan Brown
7. Mitchell Moses
8. Regan Campbell-Gillard
9. Reed Mahoney
10. Junior Paulo
11. Shaun Lane
12. Ryan Matterson
15. Marata Niukore

14. Ray Stone
16. Orgegon Kaufusi
17. Brad Takairangi
19. Daniel Alvaro

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 6:08 pm
by gangrenous
Azza wrote:
Northern Raider wrote: June 27, 2020, 11:52 am I have a feeling about this game
Can I borrow a feeling?
I’ll lend you a jar of love.

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 6:12 pm
by afgtnk
**** me, nervous about this one. Getting a sinking feeling that it could unravel tonight

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 6:15 pm
by Johno
I feel we will dig deep and defence will be very tight and our attack will have a slickness about it, maybe not razzle dazzle but ruthless.

Re: 2020 Rd 7 V Eels: Game Day

Posted: June 27, 2020, 6:29 pm
by RichmondRaider
Very interested to see their first run down our right side. I'm advised their side is not bad