The Canberra Raiders will be looking to go back to back when they line up against the Gold Coast Titans at 3 pm on Saturday.
With their 36 – 8 thrashing of the Brisbane Broncos last Saturday, and their narrow win over the North Queensland Cowboys just two weeks prior, the Raiders will boast a clean sweep of the Queensland teams if they get the win this weekend.
The win for the Raiders last week kept them at fifth on the ladder, sitting just behind the fourth-place Roosters on nine wins each, separated by 101 points. With only six games left until finals, the Raiders will be looking for some high scoring wins to move past the Roosters in the hope to secure a top-four spot and a home final.
The Titans went down to the Sharks 30 – 18 last week in a loss that cost them more than the two points. Kevin Proctor was sent off for allegedly biting Shaun Johnson, and despite Johnson refusing to testify, the NRL judiciary has found the Titans captain guilty, handing down a four-week suspension for the incident.
Proctor wasn’t the only casualty for the Titans last week, with Jai Arrow picking up a shoulder injury and Dale Copley a pectoral injury that will sideline him for the season. There’s no return date set for Arrow yet, but the Titans forward won't line up against the Raiders this weekend and is a huge loss to their squad.
The Raiders didn’t pick up any new injuries against the Broncos, but Michael Oldfield has extended his time off the field, suffering a broken thumb at training last week, pushing his return date back to round 20.
The Titans conceded nine penalties and had 14 handling errors last week, which they’ll need to clean up heading into Saturday’s game, but the Raiders will have to be at their best defensively with their opponents also tallying up 42 tackle breaks.
The combination of John Bateman and George Williams was a highlight of the Raiders performance last week and something that any Rugby League fan will look forward to seeing this week.
More:
https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2020/08/20/nrl-match-preview-raiders-v-titans/
Topic: NRL Match Preview: Raiders v Titans
