Raiders v DragonsSunday 4.15pm, Canberra Stadium
Both the Raiders and Dragons will be ruing a lack of consistency over the opening rounds, but equally happy that a corner has been turned – the combatants both racking up their first win last weekend.
But the redemption won’t last long for one of the sides and one has a funny feeling it will be the Raiders to return to their losing ways.
While the Raiders’ 38-24 win over the Titans was infinitely better than their Round 1 farce, the Green Machine did let in 24 points and commit a worrying 15 errors.
Star halfback Mitch Cornish (one try, two try assists) was adequate without being brilliant and the two Raiders wingers ran for a combined total of just 64 metres.
The Dragons’ 40-28 win, in contrast, makes for much more convincing reading.
Four of the Dragons’ back five made more than 100 metres, lock Kal Collins delivered 51 bone-jarring tackles and the Dragons made a mockery of the Broncos’ defence in racking up 43 tackle-breaks. Had they not taken their foot off the gas in the last 10 minutes, the score would have been more representative of their dominance.
All this says that Canberra, though enjoying hometown advantage, will need to lift if they’re to head to Newcastle next week with any confidence at all.
Source: http://www.nrl.com/holden-cup-preview-round-3/tabid/10874/newsid/71284/default.aspx
Topic: NYC Round 3 Preview: Raiders V Dragons - Holden Cup
