2021 Rd 1 V Tigers: Game Day
Posted: March 8, 2021, 1:34 pm
2021 Rd 1 V Tigers: Game Day
Canberra Raiders V Wests Tigers
Sunday March 14 4:05pm
Canberra Stadium
Tickets: Click here
Gates open: 1:35pm
NSW Cup: Canberra Raiders V Western Suburbs Magpies: 1:50pm
TV coverage: Nine, Fox League Channel 502
Radio: ABC, Mix 106.3
Weather: Rain. Cloudy. Very high chance of rain, most likely in the morning and early afternoon. The chance of a thunderstorm in the early morning. Light winds becoming south to southeasterly 15 to 20 km/h in the morning then tending east to southeasterly in the late afternoon. Chance of any rain: 95 per cent Possible rainfall: to 25 mm Min 10 Max 19
The Canberra Raiders play their 2021 season opener against the Wests Tigers at Canberra Stadium. Finally, an actual traditional rivalry to start the year for the Green Machine!
Team news: The Canberra Raiders have named Sebastian Kris at left centre, with co-captain Jarrod Croker ruled out. Kris has earned a new top 30 contract, while Croker is still recovering from shoulder surgery. Ryan James will make his debut in green off the bench. In a slight surprise, Siliva Havili and Ryan Sutton have been named on the bench, with Tom Starling and Emre Guler missing out on the top 17. Forwards Corey Horsburgh and Corey Harawira-Naera are both unavailable due to suspension.
The Wests Tigers also have two players suspended - Adam Doueihi and Zane Musgrove. Moses Mbye (hamstring) has been named at five eighth. Shawn Blore (wrist) is unavailable after recently having surgery.
Late changes: Tom Starling and Emre Guler dropped out of the Raiders' squad on Saturday afternoon, leaving Sam Williams and Harley Smith-Shields on the reserves list. Starling and Guler will play NSW Cup. Tukimihia Simpkins and Alex Seyfarth have been omitted from the Tigers' squad.
History: The Raiders have won 19 of 38 matches against the Wests Tigers, a 50 per cent win rate. Including games played against the Wests Magpies and Balmain Tigers prior to the joint venture, the Raiders have won 52 of 95 contests. That 55 per cent win rate is significantly boosted by the 75 per cent win rate against the Magpies.
For a long time, the Tigers were a bit of a bogey team for the Raiders. However, that's now changed. The Raiders have now won eight of the past 10 matches between the clubs, and four of the last five. The Raiders won both contests in 2019. They produced a comprehensive victory in Round 13 last year at Western Sydney Stadium, holding the Tigers scoreless (28-0). They backed that up with a 20-12 win at Canberra Stadium in Round 18. The Green Machine produced a 14-6 win in Round 5 last year at Campbelltown Stadium.
The Raiders have won 10 of 20 matches against the Wests Tigers at Canberra Stadium.
2020 Round 5 Canberra Raiders V Wests Tigers
2019 Round 18 Canberra Raiders V Wests Tigers
2019 Round 13 Canberra Raiders V Wests Tigers
2018 Round 22 Canberra Raiders V Wests Tigers
2018 Round 15 Canberra Raiders V Wests Tigers
Form: Raiders: WWWWL
Tigers: LWLLL
The Tigers finished the 2020 season on a three game losing streak, falling to the Rabbitohs (26-24), Storm (50-22) and Eels (28-24). Their only victory in their past five games came against the Sea Eagles (34-32). The Raiders were on a five game winning streak last year, before being defeated by the Storm (30-10) in the Preliminary Final.
The Tigers produced a big 52-18 win over the Sea Eagles at Leichhardt in their recent trial match. The Raiders lost their trial against the Roosters by six, but won the first half in the battle of the two teams' A listers.
Betting: The Raiders are $1.37 favourites, while the Tigers are paying $3.10. The Tigers have 7.5 points start in the line betting. The Tigers' odds have shortened over the week.
Stat attack: There are a couple of stats from 2020 that the Canberra Raiders will want fix this season. Over the regular season, they made 1661 metres on average with the ball in hand, but conceded 1679 metres per game in defence. That's a negative differential of 18 metres - the only top eight team to lose the battle for territory. The Raiders have a mobile forward pack, but they'll be looking to make more metres this year - along with the back three. There should be metres on offer, with the game set to be even faster in 2021. The Raiders will also need to watch the number of set re-starts they concede. They ranked fourth in the NRL for "six again calls" conceded last year.
Key match-ups:
Curtis Scott and Joey Leilua Former Raiders centre Joey Leilua was one of the Canberra Raiders most damaging attacking weapons in the No. 4 jersey - before being released to the Wests Tigers at the start of last year. He recently described his first year with the Tigers as "absolutely disgusting".
"It was poor from me," he continued. "I never want to see myself like that again. I was poor in my performances … they signed me to make the club better. I let the club down and the fans. My job this year is doing my best as I can to repay them. When you sign someone you expect them to do a job and I didn’t do that last year."
He's reportedly stripped 10kgs from his frame and will reportedly play on the left this year. That means he'll come up against the man who replaced him in the Raiders' No. 4 jersey - Curtis Scott. Scott didn't have the best of years in 2020 himself. He was arrested after a big day out on Australia Day, and faced various charges, before being cleared in court. He was subjected to brutal treatment by police, with the court concluding he was illegally arrested. Injuries also disrupted his season. He'll be looking to make a big impact in green this year.
George Williams and Luke Brooks Luke Brooks was the Dally M Halfback of the Year in 2019, but he'd probably prefer to forget his 2020. Benji Marshall mostly led the charge for the Tigers last year in the halves. But Marshall has gone to the Rabbitohs and Brooks will need to be the leader this season.
"The way we're going to play is having that traditional halfback and not having it split left and right," Brooks said recently. "I think that's when I play my best footy. I've looked at deception stuff and playing around the ball … coming up with ways to trying to outsmart the defence. You've got to find ways to score points."
Brooks faces a tough opponent in the Raiders' English half George Williams. He had an outstanding debut season in the NRL last year. He's known as a runner, but stepped up as an organiser when hooker Josh Hodgson was lost for the season to an ACL injury. Hodgson will be back for Round 1 - and based on the Raiders' trial match against the Roosters, it looks like he's been working hard on the combination with his halves. They looked slick. Williams has a pin point kicking game and that helped him net 15 try assists last year. That compares to three for Brooks. If I were in the business of awarding "skins", Williams takes this one.
Josh Papalii and James Tamou These two props might not face each other directly, but they are the leaders of the pack for each team. The Tigers have recruited Tamou from the Panthers for 2021 - and have immediately appointed him captain. That's how influential the Tigers expect him to be. But there is no better prop in the game than Canberra's Josh Papalii. He wins this match-up for mine, very clearly.
Our tip: The Tigers have missed the finals for nine consecutive seasons, finishing in ninth three times. Not last year. They placed 11th, winning seven games and losing 13. Tigers coach Michael Maguire cleaned out his team over the off season, adding Tamou, centre James Roberts, fullback Daine Laurie and prop Joe Ofahengaue. Maguire no doubt would have liked to keep hooker Harry Grant, who was on loan from the Storm in 2020. But that was not to be. It's hard to see them improving enough to be a finals contender. The Raiders have lost second rower John Bateman and winger Nick Cotric. But they have enough young players coming through to fill the holes, and are absolutely stacked in the forwards. The spine is definitely top four quality. The Raiders are correctly warm favourites in this one. Raiders by 10.
What they're saying:
Josh Papalii: "I've been here a long time and I know what we have here is special. We'll be a chance to take it all the way to the final game. If I'm thinking less than the grand final this year there's no point being here."
Canberra Raiders
1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
2. Bailey Simonsson
3. Sebastian Kris
4. Curtis Scott
5. Jordan Rapana
6. Jack Wighton
7. George Williams
8. Josh Papalii
9. Josh Hodgson
10. Dunamis Lui
11. Hudson Young
12. Elliott Whitehead
13. Joe Tapine
14. Siliva Havili
15. Ryan Sutton
16. Sia Soliola
17. Ryan James
18. Sam Williams
21. Harley Smith-Shields
Injury/Suspension
Jarrod Croker, Shoulder (Rd 2-4)
Corey Horsburgh, Suspended (Rd 2)
Corey Harawira-Naera, Suspended (Rd 3)
Wests Tigers
1. Daine Laurie
2. David Nofoaluma
3. James Roberts
4. Joseph Leilua
5. Asu Kepaoa
6. Moses Mbye
7. Luke Brooks
8. James Tamou
9. Jacob Liddle
10. Joe Ofahengaue
11. Luke Garner
12. Luciano Leilua
13. Alex Twal
14. Tommy Talau
15. Thomas Mikaele
16. Stefano Utoikamanu
17. Russell Packer
18. Jock Madden
19. Michael Chee-Kam
Injury/Suspension
Adam Doueihi, Suspended (Rd 2)
Zane Musgrove, Suspended (Rd 3)
Shawn Blore, Wrist (Rd 6)
Billy Walters, Knee (Indefinite)
Officials
Referee: Gerard Sutton
Touch judges: Dave Munro, Drew Oultram
Video referee: Ashley Klein
NRL teams: Click here
NSW Cup teams: Click here
Match Hashtags: #NRL #WeareRaiders #NRLRaidersTigers
The Greenhouse Hashtags: #WearGreen2021 #FromAllAngles
Plus follow us on Twitter: @TheGHRaiders and Instagram: @TheGHRaiders
Canberra Raiders V Wests Tigers
Sunday March 14 4:05pm
Canberra Stadium
Tickets: Click here
Gates open: 1:35pm
NSW Cup: Canberra Raiders V Western Suburbs Magpies: 1:50pm
TV coverage: Nine, Fox League Channel 502
Radio: ABC, Mix 106.3
Weather: Rain. Cloudy. Very high chance of rain, most likely in the morning and early afternoon. The chance of a thunderstorm in the early morning. Light winds becoming south to southeasterly 15 to 20 km/h in the morning then tending east to southeasterly in the late afternoon. Chance of any rain: 95 per cent Possible rainfall: to 25 mm Min 10 Max 19
The Canberra Raiders play their 2021 season opener against the Wests Tigers at Canberra Stadium. Finally, an actual traditional rivalry to start the year for the Green Machine!
Team news: The Canberra Raiders have named Sebastian Kris at left centre, with co-captain Jarrod Croker ruled out. Kris has earned a new top 30 contract, while Croker is still recovering from shoulder surgery. Ryan James will make his debut in green off the bench. In a slight surprise, Siliva Havili and Ryan Sutton have been named on the bench, with Tom Starling and Emre Guler missing out on the top 17. Forwards Corey Horsburgh and Corey Harawira-Naera are both unavailable due to suspension.
The Wests Tigers also have two players suspended - Adam Doueihi and Zane Musgrove. Moses Mbye (hamstring) has been named at five eighth. Shawn Blore (wrist) is unavailable after recently having surgery.
Late changes: Tom Starling and Emre Guler dropped out of the Raiders' squad on Saturday afternoon, leaving Sam Williams and Harley Smith-Shields on the reserves list. Starling and Guler will play NSW Cup. Tukimihia Simpkins and Alex Seyfarth have been omitted from the Tigers' squad.
History: The Raiders have won 19 of 38 matches against the Wests Tigers, a 50 per cent win rate. Including games played against the Wests Magpies and Balmain Tigers prior to the joint venture, the Raiders have won 52 of 95 contests. That 55 per cent win rate is significantly boosted by the 75 per cent win rate against the Magpies.
For a long time, the Tigers were a bit of a bogey team for the Raiders. However, that's now changed. The Raiders have now won eight of the past 10 matches between the clubs, and four of the last five. The Raiders won both contests in 2019. They produced a comprehensive victory in Round 13 last year at Western Sydney Stadium, holding the Tigers scoreless (28-0). They backed that up with a 20-12 win at Canberra Stadium in Round 18. The Green Machine produced a 14-6 win in Round 5 last year at Campbelltown Stadium.
The Raiders have won 10 of 20 matches against the Wests Tigers at Canberra Stadium.
2020 Round 5 Canberra Raiders V Wests Tigers
2019 Round 18 Canberra Raiders V Wests Tigers
2019 Round 13 Canberra Raiders V Wests Tigers
2018 Round 22 Canberra Raiders V Wests Tigers
2018 Round 15 Canberra Raiders V Wests Tigers
Form: Raiders: WWWWL
Tigers: LWLLL
The Tigers finished the 2020 season on a three game losing streak, falling to the Rabbitohs (26-24), Storm (50-22) and Eels (28-24). Their only victory in their past five games came against the Sea Eagles (34-32). The Raiders were on a five game winning streak last year, before being defeated by the Storm (30-10) in the Preliminary Final.
The Tigers produced a big 52-18 win over the Sea Eagles at Leichhardt in their recent trial match. The Raiders lost their trial against the Roosters by six, but won the first half in the battle of the two teams' A listers.
Betting: The Raiders are $1.37 favourites, while the Tigers are paying $3.10. The Tigers have 7.5 points start in the line betting. The Tigers' odds have shortened over the week.
Stat attack: There are a couple of stats from 2020 that the Canberra Raiders will want fix this season. Over the regular season, they made 1661 metres on average with the ball in hand, but conceded 1679 metres per game in defence. That's a negative differential of 18 metres - the only top eight team to lose the battle for territory. The Raiders have a mobile forward pack, but they'll be looking to make more metres this year - along with the back three. There should be metres on offer, with the game set to be even faster in 2021. The Raiders will also need to watch the number of set re-starts they concede. They ranked fourth in the NRL for "six again calls" conceded last year.
Key match-ups:
Curtis Scott and Joey Leilua Former Raiders centre Joey Leilua was one of the Canberra Raiders most damaging attacking weapons in the No. 4 jersey - before being released to the Wests Tigers at the start of last year. He recently described his first year with the Tigers as "absolutely disgusting".
"It was poor from me," he continued. "I never want to see myself like that again. I was poor in my performances … they signed me to make the club better. I let the club down and the fans. My job this year is doing my best as I can to repay them. When you sign someone you expect them to do a job and I didn’t do that last year."
He's reportedly stripped 10kgs from his frame and will reportedly play on the left this year. That means he'll come up against the man who replaced him in the Raiders' No. 4 jersey - Curtis Scott. Scott didn't have the best of years in 2020 himself. He was arrested after a big day out on Australia Day, and faced various charges, before being cleared in court. He was subjected to brutal treatment by police, with the court concluding he was illegally arrested. Injuries also disrupted his season. He'll be looking to make a big impact in green this year.
George Williams and Luke Brooks Luke Brooks was the Dally M Halfback of the Year in 2019, but he'd probably prefer to forget his 2020. Benji Marshall mostly led the charge for the Tigers last year in the halves. But Marshall has gone to the Rabbitohs and Brooks will need to be the leader this season.
"The way we're going to play is having that traditional halfback and not having it split left and right," Brooks said recently. "I think that's when I play my best footy. I've looked at deception stuff and playing around the ball … coming up with ways to trying to outsmart the defence. You've got to find ways to score points."
Brooks faces a tough opponent in the Raiders' English half George Williams. He had an outstanding debut season in the NRL last year. He's known as a runner, but stepped up as an organiser when hooker Josh Hodgson was lost for the season to an ACL injury. Hodgson will be back for Round 1 - and based on the Raiders' trial match against the Roosters, it looks like he's been working hard on the combination with his halves. They looked slick. Williams has a pin point kicking game and that helped him net 15 try assists last year. That compares to three for Brooks. If I were in the business of awarding "skins", Williams takes this one.
Josh Papalii and James Tamou These two props might not face each other directly, but they are the leaders of the pack for each team. The Tigers have recruited Tamou from the Panthers for 2021 - and have immediately appointed him captain. That's how influential the Tigers expect him to be. But there is no better prop in the game than Canberra's Josh Papalii. He wins this match-up for mine, very clearly.
Our tip: The Tigers have missed the finals for nine consecutive seasons, finishing in ninth three times. Not last year. They placed 11th, winning seven games and losing 13. Tigers coach Michael Maguire cleaned out his team over the off season, adding Tamou, centre James Roberts, fullback Daine Laurie and prop Joe Ofahengaue. Maguire no doubt would have liked to keep hooker Harry Grant, who was on loan from the Storm in 2020. But that was not to be. It's hard to see them improving enough to be a finals contender. The Raiders have lost second rower John Bateman and winger Nick Cotric. But they have enough young players coming through to fill the holes, and are absolutely stacked in the forwards. The spine is definitely top four quality. The Raiders are correctly warm favourites in this one. Raiders by 10.
What they're saying:
Josh Papalii: "I've been here a long time and I know what we have here is special. We'll be a chance to take it all the way to the final game. If I'm thinking less than the grand final this year there's no point being here."
Canberra Raiders
1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
2. Bailey Simonsson
3. Sebastian Kris
4. Curtis Scott
5. Jordan Rapana
6. Jack Wighton
7. George Williams
8. Josh Papalii
9. Josh Hodgson
10. Dunamis Lui
11. Hudson Young
12. Elliott Whitehead
13. Joe Tapine
14. Siliva Havili
15. Ryan Sutton
16. Sia Soliola
17. Ryan James
18. Sam Williams
21. Harley Smith-Shields
Injury/Suspension
Jarrod Croker, Shoulder (Rd 2-4)
Corey Horsburgh, Suspended (Rd 2)
Corey Harawira-Naera, Suspended (Rd 3)
Wests Tigers
1. Daine Laurie
2. David Nofoaluma
3. James Roberts
4. Joseph Leilua
5. Asu Kepaoa
6. Moses Mbye
7. Luke Brooks
8. James Tamou
9. Jacob Liddle
10. Joe Ofahengaue
11. Luke Garner
12. Luciano Leilua
13. Alex Twal
14. Tommy Talau
15. Thomas Mikaele
16. Stefano Utoikamanu
17. Russell Packer
18. Jock Madden
19. Michael Chee-Kam
Injury/Suspension
Adam Doueihi, Suspended (Rd 2)
Zane Musgrove, Suspended (Rd 3)
Shawn Blore, Wrist (Rd 6)
Billy Walters, Knee (Indefinite)
Officials
Referee: Gerard Sutton
Touch judges: Dave Munro, Drew Oultram
Video referee: Ashley Klein
NRL teams: Click here
NSW Cup teams: Click here
Match Hashtags: #NRL #WeareRaiders #NRLRaidersTigers
The Greenhouse Hashtags: #WearGreen2021 #FromAllAngles
Plus follow us on Twitter: @TheGHRaiders and Instagram: @TheGHRaiders