BY ROB

The Raiders pulled off a most memorable win last round, yoinking the danish off the Panthers plate before anyone could say Kuala Lumpur France. They literally personified Sisyphus, somehow overcoming a slew of Panthers dominated stats to give the reigning premiers a nasty shock heading into September.

They’ll need to do something doubly audacious if they’re to do the impossible two weeks in a row. They outplayed Penrith with a narrow but effective game plan – target Schneider’s side of the field and kick towards To’o, knowing that Savage had the height advantage. It was a good plan, but only a fool would think it can be replicated against a side where three of the wing/centres named stand over 6’4″ (seriously if Sua’ali’i was playing the four heights would be 6’4″, 6’5″, 6’5″ and 6’7″).

Which means the Raiders now have two problems – how to get around/or through the Roosters, and how to stop their towering backline from prying open the edge defence. The defence issue is ultimately down to the Raiders being at their maximum best, while the offence requires some proactive, front-foot thinking – early shifts and early kicks.

Now when I say early shifts I don’t necessarily mean straight to the edges. That’s where the tall, athletic timber is, a mismatched nightmare for the Green Machine. Rather we want Canberra shifting lanes through the middle, working both sides of the ruck and hopefully a) tiring the chooks forwards and b) forcing their halves to do a lot of defence and make decisions.

Changes

The Raiders remain unchanged from the 17 that foiled the Panthers. The only name in doubt is Bert Hopoate who is apparently sporting a moon boot. Should he fail to get it off in time it could see Jed Stuart, son of Sticky, make his NRL debut.

The Opposition

The Roosters currently lead the three-way race for second place and a home ground advantage in week 1 of the finals, courtesy of a strong differential. With their rivals the Sharks and Panthers also playing bottom 9 sides they need to win their last two to lock  up the goods.

Match-ups

This should probably read mismatches, such is the Roosters advantage out wide. Both teams are on fairly equal footing through the spine and forwards. The Raiders just need 80 minutes of gusto and good hands.

In Conclusion

The season may be nearly done for the Milk, but doesn’t mean they can’t chuck a few spanners into the plans of other teams on their way out the door. After this only the Dragons stand in their way, and going out on a hattrick would be a good way to end a seismic season.

Raiders by a scrappy 4!

Rob is the best human I know so you should follow him on Twitter here. Or you can do us a solid and like our page on Facebook, or share this on social media. Don’t hesitate to send us feedback (dan@sportress.org) or comment below if you think we are stupid. Or if we’re not.