Canberra Raiders Archives

Canberra Raiders V St. George Illawarra Dragons
Monday July 2nd 2012, 7:00pm AEST @ Canberra Stadium, Bruce A.C.T.

Broadcast Details:
LIVE on Fox Sports 2 @ 7:00pm AEST

Live Updates:
Available here on RNA

Tickets:
Ticketek - Raiders V Dragons

Teams:

RAIDERS
Reece Robinson, Dimitri Pelo, Jarrod Croker, Blake Ferguson, Edrick Lee, Josh Mccrone, Sam Williams, Dane Tilse, Travis Waddell, Tom Learoyd-Lahrs, Josh Papalii, Joel Thompson, Shaun Fensom. Interchange (from): Bronson Harrison, Sam Mataora, Joe Picker, Mark Nicholls

DRAGONS
Jason Nightingale, Daniel Vidot, Chase Stanley, Matt Cooper, Bronx Goodwin,Jamie Soward, Ben Hornby, Dan Hunt, Mitch Rein, Jack de Belin, Jake Marketo, Leeson Ah Mau, Dean Young. Interchange: Nathan Fien, Jeremy Latimore, MattPrior, Josh Miller


Raiders v Dragons preview

Canberra Raiders v St George Illawarra Dragons
Canberra Stadium
Monday 7pm



The Dragons will endure a nervous coach ride down the Federal Highway on Monday contemplating their match-up with the Raiders – they have not beaten the Green Machine in Canberra since Cathy Freeman lit the flame to open the Sydney 2000 Olympics!

Worse, they’ve lost 12 of their past 13 games against the boys from the nation’s capital (in fact, Leeson Ah Mau and Atelea Vea are the only players among their main roster to have beaten Canberra in Canberra). And this week their ranks are severely depleted due to Origin duty, with key players Ben Creagh, Trent Merrin, Beau Scott and Brett Morris all missing.

However, the Raiders will need to pull out something special if they’re to keep their bogy-team status intact, given they’ll be without skipper David Shillington (Maroons) and attacking linchpin Josh Dugan, who is out for three weeks after injuring his ankle last Saturday.

The Raiders enter the arena after being touched up by the Cowboys in Townsville, the 40-18 defeat their third from their past four games. They continue to have little response to free-flowing opposition attack and conceded 12 line-breaks – the equal most by any side all year – as Matt Bowen cut loose. Currently sitting in 13th place on the ladder, they need to win at least eight of their remaining 10 games to force their way into the playoffs. 

Meanwhile St George Illawarra had a lucky escape against the Titans in Wollongong last Friday, emerging 8-6 victors only after the Gold Coast were denied a late try when their five-eighth Aidan Sezer was caught marginally offside in the lead-up to Phil Graham’s apparent four-pointer. The Red V’s hard-fought win, just their second in seven outings, elevated them to 10th position on the ladder and just one win away from the eighth-placed Wests Tigers.

However, as the scoreline suggests, the Dragons’ scoring woes continue – while their defence is airtight they remain rock bottom for points scored (14.5 each week), a whole two points adrift of the next most attack-challenged team, Penrith.

In personnel changes Raiders coach David Furner has promoted Dane Tilse to start at prop this week for Dave Shillington, with Bronson Harrison, Mark Nicholls and Joe Picker the new faces on their bench.

Meanwhile Dragons coach Steve Price has been forced into a significant reshuffle: Jason Nightingale shifts from the centres to fullback for Brett Morris, with Matt Cooper fit to take his place in the No.4 after missing last week’s game with the flu; Mitch Rein will start at hooker, with Nathan Fien reverting to the interchange. Jake Marketo and Leeson Ah Mau are the new starting second-rowers (for Beau Scott and Ben Creagh), with Jeremy Latimore and Josh Miller named on the bench. Trent Merrin, initially named in the NSW Origin squad for Game Three, has been released to line up for the Dragons.

Watch Out Raiders: Daniel Vidot will be primed for a huge game against his former team. The winger scored 27 tries in three seasons in Canberra and has quickly gained a reputation for clawing out solid territory at his new club, leading all NRL wingers for running metres (1913). Vidot has crossed for four tries so far and has seven line-breaks, including two last week. He’ll relish his contest with Dimitri Pelo.

Nine NRL hookers run more often out of dummy-half than Dragons No.9 Mitch Rein – but he still maintains a better strike rate for line-breaks from the ruck than everyone else, leading the way with five so far. He’ll look to add to the Dragons’ tally of soft tries from dummy-half: they have six to date (third most).

Danger Sign: Canberra must try to keep the Dragons well away from their goal line or they’ll put themselves under huge pressure. The Raiders have surrendered a league-high 43 tries from within 10 metres of their try line.

Watch Out Dragons: Jarrod Croker has had problems with his defence in 2012 but there’s no doubt he’s been their shining light in attack. The left centre has scored 10 tries, made 11 line-breaks and busted 52 tackles. He’ll look to get on the outside shoulder of Chase Stanley and test his defensive reads, given the older Stanley brother is playing just his third game of the season.

Blake Ferguson is due to cross the stripe sooner rather than later. Now in the centres, the former winger leads all Raiders for territory gained (128 metres) but has crossed for just three tries in 13 games. Last year scored 13 tries, so no doubt he’ll be hungry. Plus he’s averaging six tackle-breaks a game, the most by any centre.

Danger Sign: The Dragons are having massive problems cleaning up kicks and with Brett Morris missing they’ll be under the pump even more than usual. They’ve conceded 17 tries to kicks so far – the third most in the league – including one last week (and very nearly two!). Their biggest problems are cross-field bombs (just 50 per cent defused) and high balls near their goal posts. Expect Josh McCrone and Sam Williams to test out their communication.   

Josh McCrone v Jamie Soward: Pushed to five-eighth this week Josh McCrone’s passing game will need to be closely monitored – he has contributed 12 line-break assists to date, with 11 coming from select passes. Meanwhile after hanging around on the left-hand side of the field through the first half of the season for not much gain, Jamie Soward found immediate success back on the right-hand side of the field last week, breaching the Titans through the centres region to notch just his second line-break of the year. Given the Raiders have conceded 38 tries through their left-edge defence (nine more than the next most leaked by the Warriors) Soward could be in for a night to remember.

Where It Will Be Won: Getting the balance right. Clearly the Dragons are the most imbalanced side in the NRL: on the one hand they lead the comp for fewest tackle misses (just 26), on the other they score the fewest tries (2.5 per game). They need to find a middle ground that will afford them greater attack while not compromising their rigid defence. Meanwhile the Raiders rank middle of the pack for points scored (19.1) but are shooting themselves in the foot through their inability to repel opposition attacking raids – they concede a league-worst 5.7 line-breaks every game. 

The History: Played 20; Raiders 13, Dragons 6, drawn 1. The Raiders have won the past six games straight and hold a 9-2 advantage at Canberra Stadium. The Dragons’ last win over the Green Machine was a 58-16 thrashing in Wollongong in 2007.

The Last Time They Met: The Raiders stunned the Dragons with a dramatic last-seconds play to steal a 24-19 victory at Canberra Stadium in Round 20 last year.

On a freezing Monday night in the nation’s capital the Green Machine overcame an 18-6 deficit at halftime, with Josh Dugan snatching victory with his second try of the evening as the fulltime siren loomed.

It was Dugan who launched their second-half comeback when he bounced out of a brace of would-be Dragons tacklers 20 metres out to power over under the posts in the 53rd minute, before Blake Ferguson’s try in the right corner from a scrum saw the teams draw level with 17 minutes remaining.

Jamie Soward appeared to have sealed victory for the Red V when he piloted over a pressure-cooker field-goal with 98 seconds left on the clock but the Raiders managed to get the ball back from their short restart of play, leaving them one last bite in attack. They worked the ball downfield, then Josh McCrone dabbed a grubber into the in-goal that Dugan somehow managed to pounce on before on-the-spot Dragons Nathan Fien and Brett Morris.

It was a remarkable, against-the-odds victory by the Raiders who were dominated by St George Illawarra everywhere but on the scoreboard. The Dragons completed their sets at a season-best 95 per cent (to Canberra’s 85 per cent), made five line-breaks to three, committed just five errors (to the Raiders’ 10) and missed just 17 tackles (to the Raiders’ 38).

Dugan (two tries, 180 metres and six tackle-breaks) and McCrone (two try assists) were the stars for Canberra, while Trent Merrin was unstoppable for the visitors (19 hit-ups, 177 metres).   

Match Officials: Referees – Jared Maxwell & Adam Devcich; Sideline Officials – Nick Beashel & Gavin West; Video Referee – Pat Reynolds.

The Way We See It: Losing Josh Dugan blunts the Raiders considerably but the Dragons will really need to step up without their Origin players. The Canberra hoodoo cannot be overlooked but the Dragons have shown enough in their past 120 minutes of footy to suggest they might be about to string some points together. They’ll need to, or else their semi-finals dream will soon fade. Dragons by six points.

Televised: Fox Sports 2 – Live 7pm.

Source: NRL

Oh yeah we need this game now and we need to win it. If we dont that will just about be it as far as our finals chances go. That second half against the Cowboys was ok but if we turn up and dish up first half efforts like we did we can forget winning anything. The Draggies are ripe for the picking this year so we should really turn up like we always do and give them a hiding. Time for some Monday night magic! It will be hard if Duges is out but we will be fine.

I remember once walking out of the SFS after a Raiders final that we lost. I was fairly down as you would imagine, I can't remember the game or who we were playing but I will always remember the Rabbitoh fan who came up to me after the game. This was in the 90s when as you would all know the Bunnies were hopeless, while the Raiders were a powerhouse club. After the finals loss the Bunny fan came to me and said "look mate dont worry, there is always next year." I remember thinking to myself 'mate, you follow the Bunnies, next year won't be any different!' But that is a great attitude to have in times like this. When the chips are down, when all seems lost, it doesn't matter really because we love our club and will all be here again next week and next year to cheer them on again. Things will get better, just take the Souths example. Comparing Souths of the 90s to Souths of the 2000s is like comparing your local under 6s team to the QLD Origin side.

I guess all I am saying in a very round about way is keep the faith! Go Raiders!

Raiders on injury watch for Dragons in NRL
26 June 2012, 7:52 pm

Canberra have announced a tentative 18-man squad for Monday's NRL clash with St George-Illawarra, acknowledging at least three of those named are in doubt with injury.

Forward Joel Thompson has been named in the starting line-up despite injuring his hand in last week's 40-18 loss to North Queensland, which doctors first believed could cost him a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

But scans have revealed only ligament damage, earning him his place against the Dragons.

Coach David Furner conceded Thompson is one of several Raiders who will be closely watched by medical staff as the week progresses.

Bronson Harrison (hamstring) and Joe Picker (skin infection) have both been named on the bench, while hard-working utility Shaun Berrigan would be a welcome inclusion if he can overcome an injury to his bicep.

All need to prove their fitness this week before taking to Canberra Stadium on Monday night, where the Raiders are chasing just their sixth win of the season.

Lumped with the added loss of captain David Shillington, who remains on State of Origin duty for Queensland, Furner was deflecting questions on Tuesday about whether he had the depth to cover the latest spate of injuries.

He agreed Canberra had been particularly unlucky.

"We had some key players (injured) last year, but just the amount ..." Furner said.

"I've looked at the list today and there's 11 players sitting on it.

"Hopefully, two of those I'll get back."

Five-eighth linchpin Terry Campese and Brett White were early-season casualties for Canberra, while serious injuries to a variety of other key players seem to be a recurring theme for the struggling Raiders.

On the plus side, the club on Tuesday revised the amount of NRL action makeshift playmaker Josh Dugan is set to miss from up to eight weeks down to four weeks.

It's likely he could be back as soon as the round-20 clash with Cronulla in July after suffering an ankle ligament strain - his second significant injury this year after his shoulder kept him out for a month earlier in the year.

Sam Williams will pick up where he left in the halves to replace Dugan, with Furner backing the youngster's efforts with the Mounties in the NSW Cup.

His halves partner Josh McCrone will take up the captaincy reins for the match.

Raiders: Reece Robinson, Dimitri Pelo, Jarrod Croker, Blake Ferguson, Edrick Lee, Josh McCrone (capt), Sam Williams, Dane Tilse, Travis Waddell, Tom Learoyd-Lahrs, Josh Papalii, Joel Thompson, Shaun Fensom. Interchange: Matt McIlwrick, Bronson Harrison, Sam Mataora, Joe Picker, Mark Nicholls.

Source: Rugby League

Thompson keen to lend a hand
27 June 2012, 10:05 am

Raiders forward Joel Thompson says he’ll give his injured hand a test later in the week, to see if he’s able to take the field on Monday night against the Dragons at Canberra Stadium.

Source: www.raiders.com.au - Click headline to read full story

Thompson puts hand up

Joel Thompson will risk his busted hand to play against the Dragons on Monday as Canberra's injury woes continue.



Canberra forward Joel Thompson will put up his busted hand to play against St George Illawarra on Monday night as the Raiders' staggering injury toll continues to mount.

With eight members of Canberra's first-choice team sidelined, Thompson said he is willing to defy the pain barrier despite injuring his left hand against the Cowboys last week.

The Raiders have already used 26 players this season, and skipper David Shillington's unavailability through Origin duty has further depleted their stocks.

Canberra players have been unavailable for a total 54 appearances from a possible 238 – essentially, for every game the Raiders have played this season, 23 per cent of the team has been unavailable through injury.

The Raiders have managed to find bizarre ways to sustain injuries this year, with trampoline accidents and a boil outbreak adding to their casualty ward.

Whether it be cheekbones, hamstrings, obliques, biceps or sternums, it seems no body part has been immune to Canberra's injury curse.

After last week's embarrassing 40-18 loss to North Queensland, which condemned Canberra to a 5-9 record, Thompson said he doesn't have the luxury of being cautious.

''100 per cent, I'll be definitely playing this Monday,'' Thompson said.

''If I have to get a needle, I have to have  a needle ... I have to do whatever I can to get out there.

''With the injuries we've got at the club at the moment there's a bit more pressure on me to get on there, but I'm happy with that.''

Five-eighth Josh McCrone, centre Jarrod Croker and second-rower Josh Papalii are the only Raiders players to feature in every game this year.

Fellow second-rowers Trevor Thurling and Jarrad Kennedy are unavailable, while doubt hangs over Bronson Harrison (hamstring) and Joe Picker (skin infection) despite being named in the side to play the Dragons.

''They [trainers] thought it may have been broken because there was a bit of a lump, but I was pretty confident it wasn't as bad as they first thought,'' Thompson said.

''I'm just going day by day at the moment, I'm still trying to get my grip back and strength in it.''

Thompson said the Raiders have spoken about their humiliating first half against the Cowboys, and that a similar effort will no longer be tolerated.

''We're just so hot and cold, we need that consistency,'' Thompson said.

''We got out and get beat [40-0 at home] by the Tigers, then have an unreal games against the Knights and then have a game like that [against the Cowboys].

''You can't do that in the NRL and we need to put our hand up and show some pride in the jumper.''

Shillington insisted Canberra's injury toll is bad luck rather than bad management, but admitted the playing group can be more diligent in their recovery.

''You'd like to point the finger at something or someone, but you just can't,'' Shillington said. ''I've read people blaming the medical staff and blaming the trainers and the players, it's just such a vast variety of injuries you can't blame anyone in particular.

''[But] collectively I think there's things we can improve like obviously being aware of those skin infections, and how players look after themselves off the field.''

Source: The SMH

Dragons' fans flag a big sacrifice if the long jinx ends

The Dragon Army has promised to sacrifice its best known banner should St George Illawarra finally vanquish the Raiders curse at Canberra Stadium on Monday night.



The unmistakable Great St George Team supporters slogan (pictured), whose unveiling coincided with the introduction of the GST tax in Australia on July 1, 2000, has become an institution at Dragons games.

The last time the Dragons defeated the Raiders in Canberra was on the same day the Howard government introduced the then-controversial tax 12 years ago, leading supporters to believe the banner is a catalyst for possibly the worst hoodoo in NRL history.

Dragon Army member Peter Trad was convinced that leaving the sign at Canberra Stadium after a victory would formally rid his side of the long-running jinx.

‘‘We’re pretty adamant that the curse is because of the GST banner,’’ Trad said.

‘‘It came out the year that the GST tax came in, so it has to have something to do with it.

‘‘If we do win, we’re all going to bombard Mark, the guy that owns it, and convince him to finally let go of it. But I wouldn’t be surprised if I see him trying to sneak it out again.’’

Dragons lock Dean Young was understandably coy when quizzed on the team’s Canberra record yesterday.

None of the present Dragons roster has yet tasted a first-grade victory for the Dragons in the nation’s capital, but Young denied that it would influence their preparation.

‘‘Every week’s the same, I want to win every week,’’ he said.

‘‘It depends on how you think about it I suppose, we can’t afford to think about a curse.

‘‘You could come up with a million excuses for why we haven’t won there, but we’re not interested in that.’’

The 12-year Raiders streak hasn’t deterred Trad or the rest of the Dragons faithful, with a 56-seater bus carting supporters down to Canberra to watch Monday night’s match.

The weather bureau expects a low of minus 3 degrees in Canberra on Monday morning, with a maximum of 11 degrees during the day.

‘‘To be quite honest, I look forward to the game every year because when we finally do get that victory down there the bus trip back home is going to be so much more enjoyable,’’ Trad said.

‘‘The wind chill down there is amazing, it’s so cold down there that you feel the coffee cup in your hand freezing while you’re drinking from it.

‘‘It’s one curse at a time. We beat the premiership drought, now we need to defeat this Canberra hoodoo and then hopefully the Melbourne steak [where the Dragons haven’t won since 2002]’’.

Source: Illawarra Mercury

Raiders v Dragons preview

Canberra Raiders v St George Illawarra Dragons
Canberra Stadium
Monday 7pm



The Dragons will endure a nervous coach ride down the Federal Highway on Monday contemplating their match-up with the Raiders – they have not beaten the Green Machine in Canberra since Cathy Freeman lit the flame to open the Sydney 2000 Olympics!

Worse, they’ve lost 12 of their past 13 games against the boys from the nation’s capital (in fact, Leeson Ah Mau and Atelea Vea are the only players among their main roster to have beaten Canberra in Canberra). And this week their ranks are severely depleted due to Origin duty, with key players Ben Creagh, Trent Merrin, Beau Scott and Brett Morris all missing.

However, the Raiders will need to pull out something special if they’re to keep their bogy-team status intact, given they’ll be without skipper David Shillington (Maroons) and attacking linchpin Josh Dugan, who is out for three weeks after injuring his ankle last Saturday.

The Raiders enter the arena after being touched up by the Cowboys in Townsville, the 40-18 defeat their third from their past four games. They continue to have little response to free-flowing opposition attack and conceded 12 line-breaks – the equal most by any side all year – as Matt Bowen cut loose. Currently sitting in 13th place on the ladder, they need to win at least eight of their remaining 10 games to force their way into the playoffs. 

Meanwhile St George Illawarra had a lucky escape against the Titans in Wollongong last Friday, emerging 8-6 victors only after the Gold Coast were denied a late try when their five-eighth Aidan Sezer was caught marginally offside in the lead-up to Phil Graham’s apparent four-pointer. The Red V’s hard-fought win, just their second in seven outings, elevated them to 10th position on the ladder and just one win away from the eighth-placed Wests Tigers.

However, as the scoreline suggests, the Dragons’ scoring woes continue – while their defence is airtight they remain rock bottom for points scored (14.5 each week), a whole two points adrift of the next most attack-challenged team, Penrith.

In personnel changes Raiders coach David Furner has promoted Dane Tilse to start at prop this week for Dave Shillington, with Bronson Harrison, Mark Nicholls and Joe Picker the new faces on their bench.

Meanwhile Dragons coach Steve Price has been forced into a significant reshuffle: Jason Nightingale shifts from the centres to fullback for Brett Morris, with Matt Cooper fit to take his place in the No.4 after missing last week’s game with the flu; Mitch Rein will start at hooker, with Nathan Fien reverting to the interchange. Jake Marketo and Leeson Ah Mau are the new starting second-rowers (for Beau Scott and Ben Creagh), with Jeremy Latimore and Josh Miller named on the bench. Trent Merrin, initially named in the NSW Origin squad for Game Three, has been released to line up for the Dragons.

Watch Out Raiders: Daniel Vidot will be primed for a huge game against his former team. The winger scored 27 tries in three seasons in Canberra and has quickly gained a reputation for clawing out solid territory at his new club, leading all NRL wingers for running metres (1913). Vidot has crossed for four tries so far and has seven line-breaks, including two last week. He’ll relish his contest with Dimitri Pelo.

Nine NRL hookers run more often out of dummy-half than Dragons No.9 Mitch Rein – but he still maintains a better strike rate for line-breaks from the ruck than everyone else, leading the way with five so far. He’ll look to add to the Dragons’ tally of soft tries from dummy-half: they have six to date (third most).

Danger Sign: Canberra must try to keep the Dragons well away from their goal line or they’ll put themselves under huge pressure. The Raiders have surrendered a league-high 43 tries from within 10 metres of their try line.

Watch Out Dragons: Jarrod Croker has had problems with his defence in 2012 but there’s no doubt he’s been their shining light in attack. The left centre has scored 10 tries, made 11 line-breaks and busted 52 tackles. He’ll look to get on the outside shoulder of Chase Stanley and test his defensive reads, given the older Stanley brother is playing just his third game of the season.

Blake Ferguson is due to cross the stripe sooner rather than later. Now in the centres, the former winger leads all Raiders for territory gained (128 metres) but has crossed for just three tries in 13 games. Last year scored 13 tries, so no doubt he’ll be hungry. Plus he’s averaging six tackle-breaks a game, the most by any centre.

Danger Sign: The Dragons are having massive problems cleaning up kicks and with Brett Morris missing they’ll be under the pump even more than usual. They’ve conceded 17 tries to kicks so far – the third most in the league – including one last week (and very nearly two!). Their biggest problems are cross-field bombs (just 50 per cent defused) and high balls near their goal posts. Expect Josh McCrone and Sam Williams to test out their communication.   

Josh McCrone v Jamie Soward: Pushed to five-eighth this week Josh McCrone’s passing game will need to be closely monitored – he has contributed 12 line-break assists to date, with 11 coming from select passes. Meanwhile after hanging around on the left-hand side of the field through the first half of the season for not much gain, Jamie Soward found immediate success back on the right-hand side of the field last week, breaching the Titans through the centres region to notch just his second line-break of the year. Given the Raiders have conceded 38 tries through their left-edge defence (nine more than the next most leaked by the Warriors) Soward could be in for a night to remember.

Where It Will Be Won: Getting the balance right. Clearly the Dragons are the most imbalanced side in the NRL: on the one hand they lead the comp for fewest tackle misses (just 26), on the other they score the fewest tries (2.5 per game). They need to find a middle ground that will afford them greater attack while not compromising their rigid defence. Meanwhile the Raiders rank middle of the pack for points scored (19.1) but are shooting themselves in the foot through their inability to repel opposition attacking raids – they concede a league-worst 5.7 line-breaks every game. 

The History: Played 20; Raiders 13, Dragons 6, drawn 1. The Raiders have won the past six games straight and hold a 9-2 advantage at Canberra Stadium. The Dragons’ last win over the Green Machine was a 58-16 thrashing in Wollongong in 2007.

The Last Time They Met: The Raiders stunned the Dragons with a dramatic last-seconds play to steal a 24-19 victory at Canberra Stadium in Round 20 last year.

On a freezing Monday night in the nation’s capital the Green Machine overcame an 18-6 deficit at halftime, with Josh Dugan snatching victory with his second try of the evening as the fulltime siren loomed.

It was Dugan who launched their second-half comeback when he bounced out of a brace of would-be Dragons tacklers 20 metres out to power over under the posts in the 53rd minute, before Blake Ferguson’s try in the right corner from a scrum saw the teams draw level with 17 minutes remaining.

Jamie Soward appeared to have sealed victory for the Red V when he piloted over a pressure-cooker field-goal with 98 seconds left on the clock but the Raiders managed to get the ball back from their short restart of play, leaving them one last bite in attack. They worked the ball downfield, then Josh McCrone dabbed a grubber into the in-goal that Dugan somehow managed to pounce on before on-the-spot Dragons Nathan Fien and Brett Morris.

It was a remarkable, against-the-odds victory by the Raiders who were dominated by St George Illawarra everywhere but on the scoreboard. The Dragons completed their sets at a season-best 95 per cent (to Canberra’s 85 per cent), made five line-breaks to three, committed just five errors (to the Raiders’ 10) and missed just 17 tackles (to the Raiders’ 38).

Dugan (two tries, 180 metres and six tackle-breaks) and McCrone (two try assists) were the stars for Canberra, while Trent Merrin was unstoppable for the visitors (19 hit-ups, 177 metres).   

Match Officials: Referees – Jared Maxwell & Adam Devcich; Sideline Officials – Nick Beashel & Gavin West; Video Referee – Pat Reynolds.

The Way We See It: Losing Josh Dugan blunts the Raiders considerably but the Dragons will really need to step up without their Origin players. The Canberra hoodoo cannot be overlooked but the Dragons have shown enough in their past 120 minutes of footy to suggest they might be about to string some points together. They’ll need to, or else their semi-finals dream will soon fade. Dragons by six points.

Televised: Fox Sports 2 – Live 7pm.

Source: NRL