Canberra Raiders V Cronulla Sharks
Friday 11 March, 6:00pm
Canberra Stadium
Gates open: 4:30 pm
Tickets: Click here
TV coverage: Fox League Channel 502
Radio: ABC, Mix 106.3, 2CC
Weather: Mostly sunny. The chance of early morning fog. Light winds. Chance of rain: 0 per cent. Min 8 Max 23 Game time temperature forecast to be 21C at kickoff, falling to 17C by the end of the match.
The Canberra Raiders open their 2022 season at home - a clash with a bit of a bogey team, the Cronulla Sharks.
Preseason trials: The Canberra Raiders won both of their trial matches - defeating the Roosters (32-18) and Sea Eagles (18-16). The match against the Sea Eagles was the more serious of the two, with the teams running their first grade line ups for the first 60 minutes. The Raiders were relatively poor in the first half, with Jack Wighton gifting two tries to the speedy, Manly right edge. The Sea Eagles took a deserved 16-0 lead after 35 minutes. But the Raiders then launched a good comeback. Wighton certainly made up for his earlier errors, scoring a try just before the break, and setting up another for Nick Cotric early in the second half.
Team news: In the lead up to the game, the Raiders were rocked by the news that new halfback recruit, Jamal Fogarty, would be on the sidelines for around four months, after suffering meniscus damage in his knee. Brad Schneider, 21, will take over the No. 7 jersey in only his second NRL match.
The Raiders are without winger Jordan Rapana, after he was suspended for a shoulder charge in the preseason All Stars match. Harley Smith-Shields - who was shaping as a certain selection for the backline - is out for the season after suffering an ACL injury in training. Co-captain Jarrod Croker will start the year in NSW Cup, with James Schiller to make his NRL debut in Croker's left centre position. Matt Timoko will be his centre partner. In a shock selection, Xavier Savage has not been brought into the top 17 to replace Rapana. Semi Valemei, who had some unhappy trial games at centre, will start in the No. 5 jersey. As Stuart foreshadowed, Charnze Nicoll-Kloksad has been preferred at fullback. Savage will play in that position in NSW Cup.
The Raiders forward pack will line up as expected, but in a surprise, prop Ryan Sutton has not been named on the bench. He will play NSW Cup on Saturday. Emre Guler and Corey Horsburgh won the battle for the bench prop positions. New forward recruit Adam Elliott will also make his debut in green off the bench.
The Sharks are missing Braydon Trindall and Franklin Pele due to suspension, while new recruit Cameron McInnes is out with a knee injury. Matt Moylan will partner Nicho Hynes in the halves, given Trindall's suspension. Wade Graham is out until Round 6 due to an ankle problem. He's replaced by Tieg Wilton. New recruit Dale Finucane will captain the side at lock.
Late changes: The Raiders cut Ryan Sutton, Trey Mooney, Harry Rushton, Jarrod Croker and Sam Williams from their squad on Thursday evening, leaving Matt Frawley and Xavier Savage on the reserves list. The Sharks cut Lachlan Miller, Jenson Taumoepeau and Jayden Berrell.
Milestones: This will be Jack Wighton's 200th match. He will be the 13th Raider to hit the 200 mark. Hudson Young clocks up his 50th.
History: The Raiders have won 39 of 80 matches against the Cronulla Sharks, for a 49 per cent win rate. Canberra has won seven of the past 10 clashes between the clubs - and the past six straight. Last year, the Raiders won a close encounter in the wet, 12-10, in unconvincing fashion at Kogarah. The Raiders posted a more decisive, 34-18, victory on the Gold Coast - a match remembered for the eye catching performance of Xavier Savage at fullback. The Sharks have a good record at Canberra Stadium. They've won 14 of the 30 games played at the venue, as well as 12 of the 17 matches played in Canberra since 2005. However, Cronulla has lost the past two games played in the national capital.
2021 Rd 18 Canberra Raiders V Cronulla Sharks
2021 Rd 2 Canberra Raiders V Cronulla Sharks
2020 Finals Week 1 Canberra Raiders V Cronulla Sharks
2020 Round 20 Canberra Raiders V Cronulla Sharks
Form: Raiders: WLLWL
Sharks: LLWWL
The Sharks were soundly beaten, 34-6, by the Panthers in their first trial match - one which featured largely second string outfits. In a full strength trial against the Bulldogs in week two, the Sharks came up trumps, winning 30-6 at Shark Park.
Betting: The Raiders started as slight favourites, but that has now switched. The Sharks are paying $1.85, the Raiders $1.95. The Raiders now have 1.5 points start in the line betting.
Key match-ups:
Josh Hodgson and Blayke Brailey: Veteran hooker Josh Hodgson is in his last season with the Green Machine. He wasn't offered a deal beyond the end of 2022 by the Raiders, and he's heading to the Parramatta Eels next year. Tom Starling is the long term No. 9 in the nation's capital, but it looks like he'll again have the role of coming off the bench after the opening exchanges. That means Hodgson will likely play 25 minutes at dummy half before shifting into the forwards, as an extra ball playing option. Blayke Brailey is just 23 years old and is still developing. But he's a player with plenty of promise, but he's also got plenty to learn. Hodgson had nine try assists in 2021, and 14 try involvements. Brailey had five try assists and nine involvements. Both averaged around 30 running metres per game (Hodgson 32, Brailey 27). Both produced three line breaks.
Brad Schneider and Nicho Hynes: This is a tough match-up for half Brad Schneider in his first starting game in the NRL. He's only played 10 minutes of first grade to date, in the Round 11 loss to the Melbourne Storm at Canberra Stadium last year. Coach Ricky Stuart has called this match Schneider's "real debut". He played well in the trials. Hopefully he'll be given a good run in first grade so he has a chance to settle in and grow. Nicho Hynes had a break out season last year, scoring seven tries and posting 25 try assists and 39 involvements for the Storm. The Sharks have done well to recruit him.
My tip: These two teams finished outside the finals, the Sharks in ninth and the Raiders in 10th. Both ended with 10 victories - level on competition points with the eighth placed Titans. All three were well adrift of the top six teams.
The Raiders have made some adjustments in the off season, with changes in the assistant coaching and perfomance staff. The Sharks have made bigger changes, with former Roosters assistant Craig Fitzgibbon taking over as head coach. They've also been very active in the player market, with Nicho Hynes, Dale Finucane and Cameron McInnes, brought to the club on deals worth a combined $6.3 million. They might have lost Shaun Johnson, but they are a stronger squad. I'm not going overboard on the Sharks, however, after one good trial win over the Bulldogs.
Both teams have some "outs", but the Raiders are probably more disrupted. This match almost a flip of the coin. But I think the Raiders might just get there. Raiders by two.
What they're saying:
Jack Wighton on Brad Schneider: "I'm excited. There's nothing more exciting than playing with a young kid stepping into first grade and trying to make an impact. Brad's a good all rounder. He's got a very strong running game, that's going to be one of the main things for us. He'll take the organising on board."
Canberra Raiders
1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
2. Nick Cotric
3. James Schiller
4. Matthew Timoko
5. Semi Valemei
6. Jack Wighton
7. Brad Schneider
8. Josh Papalii
9. Josh Hodgson
10. Joseph Tapine
11. Hudson Young
12. Corey Harawira-Naera
13. Elliott Whitehead (c)
14. Tom Starling
15. Emre Guler
16. Adam Elliott
17. Corey Horsburgh
19. Matt Frawley
23. Xavier Savage
Injury/Suspension
Sebastian Kris, COVID isolation
Peter Hola, Knee (Rd 2-4)
Jordan Rapana, Suspension (Rd 3)
Harley Smith-Shields, Knee (Season)
Cronulla Sharks
1. William Kennedy
2. Sione Katoa
3. Jesse Ramien
4. Ronaldo Mulitalo
5. Matt Ikuvalu
6. Matt Moylan
7. Nicho Hynes
8. Toby Rudolf
9. Blayke Brailey
10. Braden Hamlin-Uele
11. Briton Nikora
12. Teig Wilton
13. Dale Finucane
14. Aiden Tolman
15. Siosifa Talakai
16. Royce Hunt
17. Andrew Fifita
18. Luke Metcalf
19. Jesse Colquhoun
Injury/Suspension
Franklin Pele, Suspension (Rd 2)
Cameron McInnes, Knee (Rd 3)
Braydon Trindall, Suspension (Rd 3)
Wade Graham, Ankle (Rd 6)
Officials
Referee: Ben Cummins
Touch judges: Darian Furner, Matt Noyen
Video referee: Chris Butler
NRL teams: Click here
NSW Cup teams: Click here
Jersey Flegg teams: Click here
Match Hashtags: #NRL #WeareRaiders #NRLRaidersSharks
The Greenhouse Hashtags: #WearGreen2022 #FromAllAngles
Plus follow us on Twitter: @TheGHRaiders and Instagram: @TheGHRaiders
