Round 22: Bulldogs v Raiders preview
We are officially on the run into the finals series and Sunday afternoon's 4pm game hails as possibly the match of the round, with the Canterbury Bulldogs looking to jump into the top four against a Canberra Raiders side that is desperate to leap into the top eight.
With Manly in seventh place and with a guaranteed two points this week by virtue of their final bye, it is a must win match for both sides.
Both sides are coming off exceptional wins last weekend, with the Bulldogs putting some serious water on a flickering flame that is the Broncos finals hopes. A 41-16 win at Suncorp Stadium for the most improved team of 2024, it cemented the Bulldogs as an underdog who can be ignored no longer come September. It also proved that the Bulldogs recruitment of Matt Burton, Viliame Kikau and Connor Tracey, amongst a multitude of other signings and juniors, is finally paying off after a couple of woeful seasons.
The Raiders put the Rabbitohs to the sword at GIO Stadium to ensure they were at least even with the eighth placed Dolphins at the end of the round, with a convincing 32-12 win last Sunday night. It was not always pretty for the Green Machine, but a controlled game from Jamal Fogarty with some fantastic support from the whole side gave Canberra fans plenty to cheer about.
Josh Papalii plays his 300th game in the NRL this weekend and you know the man called Big Papi will be fired up to walk away with a win! That said, the Raiders have a formidable challenge in that they play the Sunday afternoon game at the spiritual home of the Bulldogs, Belmore Oval - a place no team wants to go, and a place where Canterbury always step up.
The Bulldogs have made two changes from the side that took down the Broncos in Brisbane. Stephen Crichton returns to the side after missing last week with a neck injury, while Josh Addo-Carr has been name to return from a hamstring injury for the first time in nearly two months. Blake Wilson and Jeral Skelton have both been dropped to the reserves, just in case either man fails to pull through during the week.
The Raiders, on the other hand, have remained with the same 17 that beat the Rabbitohs in Canberra.
Last meeting: Round 11 2024 - Raiders 24 Bulldogs 20
Who to watch: Having not been able to break into the top 17 for round one this season, Connor Tracey has been the best fullback in recent memory for the Bulldogs. After the Hayze Perham/Blake Taaffe experiment ended, Tracey was moved to the number one spot and he hasn't looked back. Since round seven, Tracey has set up ten tries, averaged over 160 running metres and most crucially, filled a spot that has proved problematic since Cameron Ciraldo took over as head coach. His combinations with the halves has started to trouble sides, and there's no doubt that he will look to back up last weeks performance against Brisbane with another strong game against Canberra.
This might be an unpopular opinion, but Tom Starling has been the best hooker in the Raiders system for the past four years and the last month has shown us why. In the four games he has started over the past month, he's averaged over 50 tackles to go with an improving running game with each progressive round. While there is no doubt that the Dogs side is one of the best defensive sides around, Starling can accelerate around tiring forwards and promote the Raiders attack that can break this Bulldogs side apart.
FAVOURITE: Canterbury are heavily backed to win at home and continue their surge.
MY TIP: A match of the round candidate with finals implications not just for these two sides, but for about half the competition. Both teams have differing reasons to want this win, a potential top four spot for the Bulldogs with results going their way and the Raiders wanting a finals berth to go with a big win for Papalii's 300th game. The allure of Belmore used to scare most NRL teams, and a raucous crowd has me leaning towards a Bulldogs win… just. Bulldogs by 2.
