BY VIV

Round 5 marks the halfway point of the NRLW season and here at the Wrumble we are not only trying to make it through our maiden season we are now also the light on the hill as other Raiders teams reflect on if they wish to take part in September or not.

This weekend has some interesting matchups – the Titans (4th) take on the Roosters (1st) and Newcastle (2nd) take on the Broncos (6th). Depending on how these results go, we can put a further claim towards that top 4 spot.

However, in order to do this we must get the win. Last week we started off strong going into the half 18-6 only to finish the game 19-18. We cannot let another opposition find their way back into the game like that and I’m hoping to see more polish in the execution of our attack and a full 70-minute defensive performance.

Parramatta are yet to get a win this season, they lost a lot of key players in the off-season (including Simaima Taufa) and have struggled with injuries to key players, Elsie Albert failed to finish her first game this season after reinjuring her calf. The Eels’ captain Kennedy Cherrington is still serving a suspension after a nasty spear tackle in their game against the Knights. Coach Dean Widders has rearranged his forward pack – Madeline Jones moves from lock to prop, Kyra Simon starts at lock and Nakia Davis-Welsh moves to the bench.

Last week against the Broncos, the Eels failed to take advantage of the Broncos having two players in the sin bin, losing by ten points. The Raiders have an opportunity here to improve their for and against from 3 and with all the ladder congestion, they’ll need every point they can get.

Team list Thoughts

Elise Smith makes her NRL debut this week in the second row, a local product she has played for the Yass Magpies in the Katrina Fanning Shield, winning a premiership in 2022. Highlights of that grand final are here and also features Alanna Dummett. Elise has also been part of the wider Brumbies squad in Super W.

To make room for Smith, Kerehitina Matua returns to the bench and Tara Reinke moves into the reserves. While Matua had that unfortunate error in scoring a try last week, she had over 100m running metres and 16 tackles across the game, it was a great effort for her first starting spot. What was noticeable last week was the increased minutes for the starting props (Both played an extra 15 minutes last week each) which could have contributed to the sluggish second half.  I’ll be interested to see how the bench gets used this week.

Key Matchups

Rueben Cherrington vs Chante Temara

Both players are known for their work rate in defence (37 tackles for Cherrington vs 32 tackles for Temara last week). Chante is likely to play bigger minutes with Emma Barnes out indefinitely with a jaw injury and will be looking to continue to build upon her connections with the halves 

Mahalia Murphy vs Hollie-Mae Dodd

Mahalia Murphy has been moved into the forward pack this season after most of her playing career in the backs. Unsure if this is by design or in response to the Eels’ injury woes. In her last two weeks in the second row she has cracked 100 run metres both weeks. Dodd has been better at making her tackles for most of the season and has been improving every week. Both players have a try each this season but Dodd was unlucky not to score last week against the Dragons.

Prediction

The girls to show they have the grit to get this game done and put ourselves in the frame for a run to finals, Raiders by 14!

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