Match Centre

Round 6: Raiders v Cowboys preview

Round 6 kicks off with a Round 2 rematch

The Canberra Raiders will host the North Queensland Cowboys in the opening game of Round 6 this Thursday night. The two sides will be trying to get back on track with both teams coming off two successive losses. The Raiders will be out to avenge their 20 point loss to the Cowboys back in round 2.

After dropping the first game of the season, by Round 3 the Cowboys found themselves second to Penrith on the ladder. Now in 8th, they are still looking for their third win of the season, a win that they got so close to last time out against the Warriors.

It was heartbreak for North Queensland in Redcliffe last Friday, going down to New Zealand in golden point after leading by 12 at the break. Despite not coming away with the two points, there were plenty of positive signs for the Cowboys, in particular their five-eighth Tom Dearden's strong performance.

After suffering an injury in Round 4, speedster Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow is expected to return in Round 7 when the Cowboys meet the Gold Coast. This Thursday the experienced Scott Drinkwater will take his place at fullback, as he did last weekend as well. Drinkwater had a big tally of 200 run metres, the most run metres by a player in that game. He also racked up a try, a try assist and a line break.

The decision to play Drinkwater at fullback over Valentine Holmes is an interesting one, but he seems at home there. The Cowboys will need him to produce a similar performance if they're going to find their third win of the season. Holmes is playing consistently well in the centres, and is also showing his worth as a goalkicker, with a tally of 40 points already through the first 5 rounds to his name.

The Raiders are also staring down the barrel of a third straight loss. Their trip North in round 2 was a little humiliating for the club, and they will do everything in their power for that not to repeat itself. But their past two games have shown some worrying signs, albeit against strong opposition. The two losses have both occurred at country venues, away to Manly in Mudgee, and at home to the Storm in Wagga Wagga. The Raiders announced earlier this week that they will be returning to Wagga for the 2023 season.

With Jamal Fogarty out for the majority of the season, a lot of responsibility has been placed on Brad Schneider. Schneider has performed consistently, doing his job and letting Jack Wighton and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad control the attack. At the start of the season, it seemed that Nicoll-Klokstad may have been under some pressure from young fullback Xavier Savage, but coach Ricky Stuart has stood by him so far this season.

After impressing in trials, Savage will play his first minutes of the season this Thursday, being named on the interchange for the Raiders. It'll be interesting to see what role he covers from the bench. In the centres, Matt Timoko has been named despite concerns over his fitness. If Timoko isn't deemed fit in time for the match, captain Jarred Croker could finally make his NRL return after being named in the reserves, or Savage could slot into a starting spot.

The Canberra Raiders are 2 from 2 so far this season at GIO Stadium, while the last time they played the Cowboys back in Round 2 they were severely undermanned, missing the likes of Brad Schneider, Nick Cotric and Jordan Rapana. Can a closer to full strength Canberra side put up more of a fight against a Tabuai-Fidow-less Cowboys?

Last meeting: Round 2 2022 - Cowboys 26 Raiders 6

Who to watch: Cowboys second rower Jeremiah Nanai has recently signed a one year contract extension with the club. The 19 year old was reportedly offered contracts worth nearly a million dollars a year from as many as five clubs following his teams dominant performance in round 3 against a woeful Broncos defence, a game in which he scored a hat trick. Growing up in Cairns, he played only 7 reserve grade games for the Northern Pride before making his NRL debut in round 22 of last year. He will be keen to show the Cowboys that they made the right decision to re-sign him.

Tom Starling is beginning to make a name for himself. The Canberra number 9 has earned his spot at the Raiders, working well with Josh Hodgson and Siliva Havili over the past 2 years. Now that Havili is at Souths, and the injured Hodgson is reportedly heading to Parra from 2023 (to replace Reed Mahoney), Starling will be eyeing off a long term contract at the nation's capital. With Matt Frawley losing his bench spot this week in favour of Xavier Savage, Starling will most likely have to play 80 minutes, something which he has only done once this season.

The favourite: Despite losing by a 20 point margin to the Cowboys just a month ago, the Canberra Raiders are favourites to get their third win of the season.

My tip: Drinkwater looked good at fullback last week, and the Cowboys will be fired up after such a close one last week. North Queensland by 8.