With five wins on the trot the Raiders are one of the hottest teams in the NRL and they will fancy their chances of making it six against a Manly team riding a three-game losing streak.
The Raiders have now taken care of the Eels, Bulldogs, Dolphins, Dragons and Broncos in consecutive weeks to sit on 14 points, just two behind equal competition leaders Souths and Brisbane.
The last time Canberra won six on the trot was 2016, when they went on a stunning 10-game unbeaten run between Round 17-26 to finish the regular season in second place before bowing out in a heartbreaking 14-12 loss to the Storm in the preliminary final.
Jack Wighton, Jarrod Croker, Jordan Rapana, Elliott Whitehead, Josh Papalii and Joe Tapine were all part of that side so they know what is needed to keep the roll going.
For the Sea Eagles, the struggles continued with a home loss to the Sharks on Sunday, compounded by injuries to two key forwards and concerns over superstar Tom Trbojevic’s inability to influence the game in big moments.
Anthony Seibold’s men missed 39 tackles against the Sharks on top of 38 the previous week against Brisbane and they’ll be acutely aware that similar lapses will be punished by an in-form Raiders outfit.
This article contains content that is only available on NRL.com
View at NRL.com
Team News
Raiders: The loss of hooker Zac Woolford (concussion) could be offset by the possible return of Danny Levi from a broken jaw. Matt Frawley (hand) is also a chance to make a comeback if required while Xavier Savage could be in the frame for a bench spot after he was 18th Man against the Eels.
Sea Eagles: Josh Aloiai (shoulder) and Kelma Tuilagi (facial fracture) are set to miss the game after suffering injuries against the Sharks. Ben Trbojevic and Ethan Bullemor are in the frame to move into the starting side while Josh Schuster (quad) is a chance to play his first game since Round 8.
This article contains content that is only available on NRL.com
View at NRL.com
Stat Attack
- The Raiders have won five of their past six games at GIO Stadium.
- The Sea Eagles have won five of their past seven games against the Raiders.
- Hudson Young has scored five tries in his past seven games.
- The Sea Eagles have won only one of their past nine games away from Manly.
- Raiders winger Jordan Rapana requires one try for a century of NRL tries.
- The Sea Eagles have made 40 linebreaks this season and the Raiders 38 to sit 14th and 16th respectively on the line breaks tally.
Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services, author of the official annual of the NRL.