BY ROB

It’s been a whirlwind fortnight. Hudson Young has been named in the starting lineup for the Blues. The Raiders travelled to Sydney and bested the Rabbitohs. Sticky revealed that Croker would be rested for one round so that his milestone would take place at home, in front of a hopefully heaving Canberra stadium. The beacons of Gondor Canberra have been lit.

But before we can celebrate that most auspicious occasion the Raiders must ride out once more, up the highway to the fringes of Sydney, where they’ll face the Tigers at Campbelltown.

The Tigers have undergone the most significant change of any team in the comp over the last month. After bumbling their way through the first 8 rounds Wests finally managed to get a foot in the door when they toppled Penrith in a rain soaked encounter at Bathurst.

They backed it up with a narrow win over fellow strugglers the Dragons, before conceding a pointless loss to the Bunnies. Then, against the Cowboys, the claws came out. The Tigers savaged North Queensland, downing them 66-18.

In some ways their mini-run of form resembles that of the Raiders – narrow losses punctuated by an embarrassing defeat, followed by a thrilling win. They are a much better footy side that their record suggests.

Recent history favours the Raiders, but the Tigers seem to have finally unlocked an attacking form of footy that favours long-range sideline strikes (certainly against the Cows). If they deploy this style again the Milk will find themselves working overtime to shut down these edge channels.

The Raiders need to meet two objectives: win the middle and tire the Tigers by kicking deep and applying kick-chase pressure. If they can push Wests into starting every set from inside the 10 they can deny them attacking opportunities.

Team list thoughts

There’s no point in prattling on about the Croker decision – it’s been made and it’s not changing. Toot’s resting sees last week’s hat-trick hero Hopoate jump into the centre spot with Cotric moving onto the wing. Sebastian Kris remains fullback after his knee knock against the Bunnies. Hudson Young is listed as starting with Stuart confident he can back up after his Origin debut.

Joe Tapine and Corey Horsburgh continue with their spot swap, both of them finding yet another gear after Taps moved to lock and Horse ventured out to the edge. Pasami Saulo deservedly holds onto his starting prop role alongside Papa. They’ll need to hope this all works out. Corey Harawira-Naera will not be coming back any time soon (get well Corey – that’s all that matters right now).

Perhaps the biggest shock is the inclusion of Matt “The Shoeman” Frawley on the bench. This selection can be interpreted in two ways – Frawley is a rotation for moving Wighton into another role mid-game, or he’s a smokescreen for Hohepa Puru, who’s currently impressing everyone with eyeballs with his performances in NSWcup. All will be revealed when Sticky has to name his final 18 an hour before kickoff.

The Tigers are at their available full strength, and this game marks the first encounter between John Bateman and the Raiders after his less than awesome exit in 2020.

Match-ups

Hudson Young vs John Bateman. Canberra’s newest Origin selection up against the firebrand import that partnered him in 2019 and 2020. Bateman himself touted Young as a future Origin player, and they have somewhat similar aggressive styles of engagement.

Zac Woolford vs Api Koroisau. The Raiders best option at #9 against this year’s starting Origin hooker. Koroisau has the edge in terms of experience and skill but “Germ” is quietly developing into a consistently pleasing rake. Both deploy a crafty and cunning approach to hooking which can cause headaches for opposing defences, particularly around tiring rucks.

Predictions

Croker’s omission aside these are two mostly in-form teams going head to head in what could be a Friday night blockbuster to remember. The Green Machine has the historical bragging rights (pre-season games not included) and yours truly is hoping they can solidify their grip on the top 8 before they play one of the most important games in recent club history.

Raiders by 8!

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