Preview: Knights v RaidersHEAD TO HEAD: Played 37, Knights 16, Raiders 20, draws 1
LAST TIME: Knights 36 def Raiders 6, Round 21, 2012 at Canberra Stadium.
MISSING IN ACTION: Wayne Bennett was forced to ring the changes following last week's injury crisis which saw three players, including captain Kurt Gidley, withdraw at the eleventh hour.
Gidley (calf) was a chance of returning this week but will instead join Willie Mason, Dane Gagai and Timana Tahu in a star-studded sick bay.
Young Tyrone Roberts has another opportunity to show why he deserves to keep the skipper's No 7 jersey after he upstaged Jonathan Thurston in last week's 34-6 win over the Cowboys.
Alex McKinnon will again cover for Tahu at right centre, where he scored a try and set up another, while Danny Buderus is poised to start at hooker.
Meanwhile, Raiders boss David Furner named the same line-up that secured the club's first win of 2013 at the expense of the Dragons.
FORM:
What a marvellous turnaround by the men from Newcastle.
There was nothing pretty about their humiliating 32-0 loss to Manly in round two. That made the previous week's 42-10 belting of the Tigers look like a mere flash in the pan.
But now Bennett believes the most important ingredient for a premiership-winning season has returned to Newcastle; confidence.
Starved of possession in the opening quarter, during which the Cowboys completed all eights sets and attacked the goal line for nine minutes, the Knights conceded just six points then hit back with 34 of their own.
It was a stunning performance by Roberts in particular, who scored Newcastle's opening try, created one for wing James McManus and landed four goals and a penalty in the process.
Bennett hinted the impressive 21-year-old could be a long-term option alongside Jarrod Mullen in the halves, meaning Gidley may be forced into the centres when he returns.
The Raiders were also held scoreless in round two and staged a fairly significant turnaround of their own in Canberra last week.
After going down to the Panthers and the Titans, the Green Machine got the ball rolling with a 30-17 win over the struggling Dragons.
It took three rounds but the mammoth Raiders pack found the form everyone knew they were capable of and set a solid platform for their backs to cash in with five tries.
The Raiders accumulated the highest amount of running metres for any team in round three, thanks to a quartet of props that each carted the ball up field for over 110 metres.
Reece Robinson will be a marked man after his 141 metres gained with ball in hand was topped off by an impressive brace. Jarrod Crocker's 18-point haul suggested the men in green are warming up to their best form.
Such numbers serve as a strong warning to this week's opposition but what the black and white figures don't reveal is how Canberra struggled to shake the woeful Dragons until three minutes from time.
WE THINK:
Newcastle have faced two teams currently in the top eight and out-muscled a serious title contender last week.
Canberra have conceded the most points by any side this season (85) and had their hands full with the only other team, aside from the Warriors, still without a win in 2013.
That's why Newcastle are firm favourites to chalk up a solid victory that will extend their unbeaten run at Hunter Stadium to three games. Knights by 12.
Source: http://www.sportal.co.nz/league-news-display/preview-knights-v-raiders-227903
Topic: NRL Round 4 Preview: Canberra V Newcastle
