2020 Rd 5 V Panthers: Teams and Previews *Teams p1*

[benda]

Planning on coming in from Sydney to watch the game... any recommendations on where to stay?

In Penrith?

Mercure is walking distance


School holidays, friday night would love to see a sea of green friday!

Brainsnap... i was asking for the following week in Canberra against Parra.

[BadnMean]

CHN had a huge game for NSW Cup, 2 tries, line break, lb assist, try assist and broke 11 tackles.

I'm not sure Starling and Havilii work on the same bench.

James, Sia, CHN + Havilii/Starling is a much better balanced and bigger bench for mine, that loses no mobility either. Looks hard to contain.

I hope Ricky goes that way.

[Northern Raider]

CHN had a huge game for NSW Cup, 2 tries, line break, lb assist, try assist and broke 11 tackles.

I'm not sure Starling and Havilii work on the same bench.

James, Sia, CHN + Havilii/Starling is a much better balanced and bigger bench for mine, that loses no mobility either. Looks hard to contain.

I hope Ricky goes that way.

Agree that both Starling and Havili on the bench doesn't work. Hodgo is playing 80 mins so Starling isn't providing much value there. Would prefer CHN in that spot.

[greeneyed]

[Neeeegz]

If starling is on the bench, he needs to be used around the 25 minute mark in the first half, get us the speed and go forward, or go with one of the Corey's if he's only going to play 20 minutes max

[greeneyed]

Planning on coming in from Sydney to watch the game... any recommendations on where to stay?

In Penrith?

Mercure is walking distance


School holidays, friday night would love to see a sea of green friday!

Brainsnap... i was asking for the following week in Canberra against Parra.

Depends how much you want to spend. The best hotels are in Civic and south Canberra: https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/SmartDea ... Deals.html

There’s nothing much near Canberra Stadium. Not in close walking distance... and then Belconnen is not the best for restaurants and bars etc.

My advice is stay in Civic, it’s not far to drive or Uber and there are buses to the Stadium... but you’ve got your choice of hotels and you’ve got bars and restaurants etc nearby. Some seem to like Dickson... The absolute best place is inner south... but that probably best suits a trip to Manuka Oval for the cricket.

[TongueFTW]

I mentioned some obvious things before about copying the Melbourne playbook: rushing Cleary (particularly on the last tackle), an extra number on our right side in our 20, dominating Staines physically on kick returns etc. Couple of other points:

* Test Staines and Crichton under the high ball. Crichton’s positioning isn’t crash hot at Fullback either. George’s short kicking game will be important.
* I would be very tempted to start Sia and bring Sutton off the bench. Looking at the lineups - they are a little thin in the middle with their second rotation. I really rate their starters, but Eisenhuth is an absolute plodder. We might be able to get some joy during his stint.
* If we throw some shape at their right side, the combination of Staines and Momorovski might struggle. On the flip side - Rapa and CNK need to be very wary of Cleary kicking early in the tackle count for Staines. That also goes back to the middles making sure Cleary doesn’t have a lot of time.

[BadnMean]

Planning on coming in from Sydney to watch the game... any recommendations on where to stay?

In Penrith?

Mercure is walking distance


School holidays, friday night would love to see a sea of green friday!

Brainsnap... i was asking for the following week in Canberra against Parra.

Depends on budget, self or kids etc. Mercure in Belconnen is nice obviously. Ramada on Benjamin Way is not bad at all and really affordable- clean, quiet, quite nice if you don't need 4-5 star frills. Emu Bank (walking distance from those 2) has a row of decent local restaurants (Thai and Italian both good) and a pub with a nice beer garden overlooking the lake. Those hotels or Emu Bank strip are between 4 and 3.5k from Bruce so cheap uber or bus can get you close or have a can and walk.

If you want a trendier/more upscale scene then yeah civic/braddon area.

[pickles]

Planning on coming in from Sydney to watch the game... any recommendations on where to stay?

In Penrith?

Mercure is walking distance


School holidays, friday night would love to see a sea of green friday!

Brainsnap... i was asking for the following week in Canberra against Parra.

Depends on budget, self or kids etc. Mercure in Belconnen is nice obviously. Ramada on Benjamin Way is not bad at all and really affordable- clean, quiet, quite nice if you don't need 4-5 star frills. Emu Bank (walking distance from those 2) has a row of decent local restaurants (Thai and Italian both good) and a pub with a nice beer garden overlooking the lake. Those hotels or Emu Bank strip are between 4 and 3.5k from Bruce so cheap uber or bus can get you close or have a can and walk.

If you want a trendier/more upscale scene then yeah civic/braddon area.

There's also Alivio Tourist park in O'Conner which is good if you have kids and you could walk across the ridge to the ground in half an hour or so and only a short trip into the city.

[cat]

The walk to the game from alivia

In Penrith?

Mercure is walking distance


School holidays, friday night would love to see a sea of green friday!

Brainsnap... i was asking for the following week in Canberra against Parra.

Depends on budget, self or kids etc. Mercure in Belconnen is nice obviously. Ramada on Benjamin Way is not bad at all and really affordable- clean, quiet, quite nice if you don't need 4-5 star frills. Emu Bank (walking distance from those 2) has a row of decent local restaurants (Thai and Italian both good) and a pub with a nice beer garden overlooking the lake. Those hotels or Emu Bank strip are between 4 and 3.5k from Bruce so cheap uber or bus can get you close or have a can and walk.

If you want a trendier/more upscale scene then yeah civic/braddon area.

There's also Alivio Tourist park in O'Conner which is good if you have kids and you could walk across the ridge to the ground in half an hour or so and only a short trip into the city.

The walk from Alivio tourist park to the game is 10min and a really nice walk, even better after a win and everyone is singing and cheering down the hill

[greeneyed]

Looks like yesterday's school holiday event has turned out to be the "Members Day"...

VIDEO: 2021 Members Day: https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2021/04 ... mbers-day/


GALLERY: Members Day: https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2021/04 ... y-gallery/

[Seiffert82]

I mentioned some obvious things before about copying the Melbourne playbook: rushing Cleary (particularly on the last tackle), an extra number on our right side in our 20, dominating Staines physically on kick returns etc. Couple of other points:

* Test Staines and Crichton under the high ball. Crichton’s positioning isn’t crash hot at Fullback either. George’s short kicking game will be important.
* I would be very tempted to start Sia and bring Sutton off the bench. Looking at the lineups - they are a little thin in the middle with their second rotation. I really rate their starters, but Eisenhuth is an absolute plodder. We might be able to get some joy during his stint.
* If we throw some shape at their right side, the combination of Staines and Momorovski might struggle. On the flip side - Rapa and CNK need to be very wary of Cleary kicking early in the tackle count for Staines. That also goes back to the middles making sure Cleary doesn’t have a lot of time.

Yep, I certainly hope Jack's kicking boots are on and we test Crichton. It would be great to put pressure on their back 3, but more than any club, Wighton and Hodgo have a tendency to give away cheap possession through poor kicks.

As you say, the use of our bench will also be important. If Taps is fit, I think our depth is better than theirs.

Penrith are well drilled and confident, but without Koroisau and Edwards, they could panic a bit if our defence holds tight for 20-30 mins.

I'm more worried about what we do with the ball than what they do with it. If our kicking game is good and we complete our sets we are right in this game.

[IBG]

Nah I like Ricky's tactic of starting with our best pack.

The first 20-30 will be key. If they are on with their attack they could easily score 3-4 tries which might be too hard to come back from. Start with Papa, Taps and Sutto. Sia (to a lesser extent), James and Havili can still provide big punch from the bench.

[cat]

For those coming Friday night buy your ticket quickly, only general admission and a few single seats in silver left

[greeneyed]

Canberra Raiders' NSW Cup pack good enough for NRL says in-form Englishman Ryan Sutton

Ryan Sutton is refusing to rest on his laurels after lauding the depth of the Raiders forward pack this season.

"That NSW Cup team we've got you could probably play against top NRL squads week in week out," Sutton said. "It's not just Nami, you've got Big Red [Horsburgh] who's a really talented younger player, and Emre who's a talented young player, and we've got Corey Harawira Naera in that team."

Read more: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14239

PODCAST: Behind the Limelight: Sia Soliola: https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2021/04 ... -soliola2/

VIDEO: Whitehead and Rapana on Panthers clash and dodgy captain's challenges: https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2021/04 ... hallenges/

Game Day Guide: Raiders v Panthers: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=34542

https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2021/04 ... -panthers/

VIDEO: Penrith Panthers are aiming for a 5-0 start to the season for the first time in the club’s history when they face Canberra Raiders on Friday night. Jamie Soward says the Panthers will "get away with a win": https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/04/07/pan ... --round-5/

Wighton takes Tackle of the Week: https://www.nrl.com/link/2baceb306bad45 ... e051b.aspx

[greeneyed]

Captain's run at Kippax tomorrow, before heading to Sydney, overnight stay there before Friday's game.

[pickles]

Mercure is walking distance


School holidays, friday night would love to see a sea of green friday!

Brainsnap... i was asking for the following week in Canberra against Parra.

Depends on budget, self or kids etc. Mercure in Belconnen is nice obviously. Ramada on Benjamin Way is not bad at all and really affordable- clean, quiet, quite nice if you don't need 4-5 star frills. Emu Bank (walking distance from those 2) has a row of decent local restaurants (Thai and Italian both good) and a pub with a nice beer garden overlooking the lake. Those hotels or Emu Bank strip are between 4 and 3.5k from Bruce so cheap uber or bus can get you close or have a can and walk.

If you want a trendier/more upscale scene then yeah civic/braddon area.

There's also Alivio Tourist park in O'Conner which is good if you have kids and you could walk across the ridge to the ground in half an hour or so and only a short trip into the city.

The walk from Alivio tourist park to the game is 10min and a really nice walk, even better after a win and everyone is singing and cheering down the hill

You must walk straighter than me

[Azza]

Panther to smash Raider?

[Finchy]

Panther to smash Raider?

If they needed any more motivation to beat the Panthers, surely Gus Gould’s prediction of them getting smashed should do the trick

[irvste]

Panther to smash Raider?

If there are so many injuries it comes down to a 1 on 1 game it depends who is left

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[cat]

Panther to smash Raider?

If there are so many injuries it comes down to a 1 on 1 game it depends who is left

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

Well if Starling is the last man standing we have a chance

[greeneyed]

Corey Harawira-Naera to be first 18th man for Canberra Raiders under new rules



Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has revealed that Corey Harawira-Naera will be the Green Machine's 18th man in Friday night's blockbuster clash with the Penrith Panthers.

During the week, the NRL introduced a new 18th man rule - allowing an extra player to be added to the bench, if three players are lost after a head injury assessment, or a player is lost due to foul play - and the offender is binned or dismissed. The new rule applies from Round 5.

"Corey Harawira-Naera is our 18th man this week," Stuart said today, prior to his team's captain's run.

"It's a matter of balancing utility value. Corey can play back row, he can play middle if I need it. He also allows me to have Elliott Whitehead play in the centres if there's a problem outside on the edges."

Stuart says the choice of an 18th man will depend on the specifics of each match.

"It'll be a strategy for each game, in regards as to what's required," he said.

"It'll depend upon the balance of your other four players on the bench too."

"This week, I've got three middles and a hooker. So it gives me the opportunity now to have an 18th man there if I have an outside back that went down, for me to cover that position. I'm fairly covered in the middle."

Stuart was one of the coaches pushing for foul play to be a reason for the 18th man to be activated.

"The foul play scenario with the 18th man is a no brainer," he said.

"I'm happy with the fact that teams won't be penalised with any act of foul play, where you lose a player for the rest of the game. I think that's unfair."

"It's been mooted around for a fair while and I'm glad they've taken some action upon it."

"I think it creates the evenness in the contest when you do lose a player to an incident, where the other player is allowed to stay on the field."

The Panthers are using tomorrow night's game as the focus of their celebrations for the 30th anniversary of the club's first premiership. The Panthers won their first Grand Final against the Raiders back in 1991.

The game also shapes as one of the matches of the year, with both teams having contested Grand Finals in the past two seasons.

"It'll be a great challenge," Stuart said.

"It'll be a big weekend for them. It'll be a big crowd, a big atmosphere. That's what they all love. Both groups of players will be motivated to do well and I think it'll be a very physical contest."

"The Panthers performed very well last year under difficult circumstances and they're going to be very tough at home, again. It's a big test, and we're up to the challenge."

The Raiders have welcomed back Joe Tapine into the team, after a week on the sidelines due to ankle damage.

"It's good to get Joe back, only missing the one week, which is good news," Stuart said.

"We were a little bit sceptical about whether it was going to be a couple of weeks injury, but he's recovered quickly and got through this week."

Tapine's inclusion sees Ryan Sutton shift from lock to starting prop. The young English middle forward has been one of the Raiders' best in the opening month.

"Sutto has started the season well," Stuart said.

"He's had a really good off season and he's taken that into the season with his football."

"He's fit, he's healthy and he's really got good, high workload for us, which a real positive for the team."

Dunamis Lui, who made his debut for Queensland last year, has lost his position in the top 17 - and it is one indication of how strong the competition is for a place in the Raiders' forward pack.

"They're a very driven group," Stuart said.

"They know that they've got a number of players on their tails and that's how it should be at this level."

"At an NRL level you need to have competition for positions."

"It makes for a healthier squad and I think it's important that players understand that it's not about players being put back over a result, it's performance."

"It's not about winning or losing, it's about performing individually well every week. That's a healthy attitude amongst the squad."

A report for The Greenhouse

Jarrod Croker set to surpass Andrew Johns' point scoring record



Canberra Raiders co-captain Jarrod Croker equalled the point scoring record of an Immortal of the game last week - and this week he is set to break it.

Croker has now scored 2,176 points from 132 tries and 824 goals. He drew level with Andrew Johns' tally in last week's clash with the Titans.

He could have surpassed it, if Croker had taken a shot at penalty goal in the final seconds of the game. Instead, Jordan Rapana kicked for the sideline and shut down play.

Croker will very likely become the fourth highest point scorer in Australian rugby league history in his own right tomorrow night.

He only needs to score another 47 points to also surpass Johnathan Thurston - and become the third highest point scorer of all time.

Coach Ricky Stuart heaped praise on his on-field skipper today.

"He's a very cool customer," Stuart said.

"On that left edge he's the calming influence with the other boys, with Jack and Elliott, with Jordy. He's a very calm person off the field. He's a consistent guy, Jarrod."

"The integrity that Jarrod's got is what I want in a Raider. He's a really good person. He loves the club, the club loves Jarrod."

"It's not only his goal kicking, he's scored so many tries. He's a point scoring machine really."

"His coolness and calmness towards high pressure situations, especially goal kicking is a wonderful model for any young, aspiring goal kicker."

A report for The Greenhouse

VIDEO: Ricky Stuart speaks prior to Panthers clash: https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2021/04 ... ard-depth/

GALLERY: Captain’s run: Raiders v Panthers: https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2021/04 ... -panthers/

MATCH PREVIEW: Raiders v Panthers: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=34542

https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2021/04 ... -panthers/

Clay Webb receives UC scholarship: https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2021/04 ... holarship/

Corey Harawira-Naera to be named Canberra Raiders' first 18th man under NRL's new interchange rules: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14239

Jarrod Croker's pursuit of Cameron Smith will fall short, says Andrew Johns: https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/nrl-2021-s ... 839f7ffea9

[Mickey_Raider]

Nah Gus didn’t say we would get smashed. He said Raiders are strong but the Panthers have won 22 of their last 23 games and he can’t see them losing here.

Nothing controversial about that. We are deserved underdogs.

both of our halves need to play their best game of the year for us to get the upset.

Jack in particular simply must play something close to his best for us to be in with a shout.

[greeneyed]

Nah Gus didn’t say we would get smashed. He said Raiders are strong but the Panthers have won 22 of their last 23 games and he can’t see them losing here.

Nothing controversial about that. We are deserved underdogs.

both of our halves need to play their best game of the year for us to get the upset.

Jack in particular simply must play something close to his best for us to be in with a shout.

He said "Panther flog Raider". He didn't say we'd get smashed, that's true. He said we'd get flogged.

[The Nickman]

Raider flog Panther? That's brilliant (if a little unintelligible)...

Why are we up in arms about this??

[Mickey_Raider]

Nah Gus didn’t say we would get smashed. He said Raiders are strong but the Panthers have won 22 of their last 23 games and he can’t see them losing here.

Nothing controversial about that. We are deserved underdogs.

both of our halves need to play their best game of the year for us to get the upset.

Jack in particular simply must play something close to his best for us to be in with a shout.

He said "Panther flog Raider". He didn't say we'd get smashed, that's true. He said we'd get flogged.

I am just going off what he said on his podcast. Wasn't aware he said we would get flogged elsewhere.

[Azza]

Doesn't that mean we'll win? I'm so confusted.

[The Nickman]

Yeah, I genuinely have no idea what's going on right now, but I'm still going to grab my pitchfork and join the angry rabble!

[Seiffert82]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but I'm pretty sure we are the last team to have beaten Penrith at home, breaking their streak back in 2019.

That was a good day at the footy. Looking forward to us repeating that result.

[Azza]

ah yes. I was particularly worried that day, and needn't have been. We toasted Penrith.

[greeneyed]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but I'm pretty sure we are the last team to have beaten Penrith at home, breaking their streak back in 2019.

That was a good day at the footy. Looking forward to us repeating that result.

Yes, they were on a four game winning streak at Penrith when we beat them in 2019. That's the last time they've lost at the ground. They're now on an 11 game winning streak at Panthers Stadium.

[gerg]

Yeah, I genuinely have no idea what's going on right now, but I'm still going to grab my pitchfork and join the angry rabble!

Who you calling a rabble, champ?

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[Seiffert82]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but I'm pretty sure we are the last team to have beaten Penrith at home, breaking their streak back in 2019.

That was a good day at the footy. Looking forward to us repeating that result.

Yes, they were on a four game winning streak at Penrith when we beat them in 2019. That's the last time they've lost at the ground. They're now on an 11 game winning streak at Panthers Stadium.

From memory we withheld a pretty good start from them and came home strong in the first half. I expect something similar, they are very good starters.

[greeneyed]

[irvste]

Every time Gould says NSW are a definite win or that qld looks tired qld have won. So if anything that gives us more of a chance never bet on a Gould call u will lose 98.3525 percent of the time... Statistically flawed but true regardless of whatever facts someone throws back.

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