Round 6: Raiders v Sea Eagles preview
Premiership threats test their credentials.
The Canberra Raiders and the Manly Sea Eagles are both coming off round 5 wins last week. Canberra managed to beat the Wests Tigers in what was a tight encounter, seeing the men from the nation's capital win 14-6. The loss to the Knights in round 4 and then a close game against a side they were expected to beat comfortably in round 5 could be the sign of a rough patch for the Raiders and they will be looking to get back to the form that we all know they can produce this weekend. Manly looked all but gone in their round 5 battle against the Brisbane Broncos. They were down 18-0 in the first half, before putting on 20 unanswered points to win 20-18. Playing against an understrength Brisbane, the game was a little closer than what the Sea Eagles would have liked. Similar to Canberra, Manly went down in their round 4 clash as well, despite the controversy surrounding a forward pass decision late in the game. Both of these sides are showing a few signs of being shaky recently and both will be looking to pick up their form a little this week against quality opposition.
Canberra come into this clash with a few changes in their team from the round 5 team who faced Wests Tigers. Corey Horsburgh comes back in as a welcome inclusion for Canberra at lock. This change pushed Iosia Soliola back to the front row. Despite starting the game against the Tigers last week, the change also pushes Dunamis Lui out of the 17 and back to the reserves at 18th man. Hudson Young comes onto the bench for the green machine, which means Bailey Simonsson is also pushed to the reserves.
Manly also come into this game with changes and an amount more significant than that of Canberra's. Moses Suli is out and will be replaced in the centres by Brendan Elliot who has proven a capable replacement in the backline on multiple occasions. Martin Taupau is out with a thumb injury which saw him leave the game early last round. Addin Fonua-Blake will be promoted off the bench and start in place of Taupau. Curtis Sironen is back and will replace Corey Waddell in the second row. Morgan Boyle will come onto the bench for this match.
Each team are fresh off a win in round 5 and will be looking to continue their winning ways in round 6. Despite some shaky form from both of the teams that will be lining up against each other on Sunday afternoon, expect this to be a terrific game with some quality play. Both sides came into the season as premiership threats and it will be great to see the two of them face off.
Last meeting: Round 23 2019 - Raiders 14 Sea Eagles 18
Who to watch: Josh Papalii has started 2020 exactly how he left 2019 - in great form. His runs are extremely damaging to opposition and, for a prop forward, he isn't a stranger to the try line. Look for Papalii to potentially have a large impact on the Raiders winning the middle battle. If Papalii can get on top, he may help open up the game for Canberra and the likes of Charnze Nicoll-Kolkstad and Jack Wighton.
This game will likely be first won in the middle of the park and after starting off the bench last week, look for Addin Fonua-Blake to be at his damaging best come Sunday afternoon. Fonua-Blake can be a real handful and will be a big part of Manly's success if they are to win over the middle in the game.
The favourite: The Raiders are better backed to win this one.
My tip: This game is a tough one to pick and it should be a tight one as well. The loss of Martin Taupau is a big one for Manly and they may struggle to gain ascendency in the middle of the park without him. The Canberra pack should be too strong and their backs should be able to capitalise on it. The game will be tight, but Canberra should edge it here. Raiders by 6.
