BY ROB

Round 8 sees two of the form teams of the comp facing off as the Raiders host the ‘Phins in Canberra. The Green Machine will be relieved to be home after an arduous road trip that commenced with the thrashing of the Eels in Darwin and culminated in the dispatching of the Titans on the Gold Coast.

As pointed out by the good folk over at the Green Machine Podcast, the Raiders have experienced almost every flavour of victory these last three rounds: a last gasp win over the Sharks, the caning of the Eels and the chase-and-catch of the Titans.

The Dolphins will not be so accommodating.

Anyone who watches copious amounts of NRL across the weekend will have seen what Flipper United did to the Storm. Down 16-2 the men in red staged one of the all-time comebacks, overpowering the Storm and then tearing them to shreds. You can argue injuries played a role but that hasn’t mattered so much for the Storm in the past.

Canberra cannot afford the sluggish start that they had against the Titans. Their starting forwards got rolled in that first stanza, which makes one think that Sticky may split them up (Taps and Papa) by partnering Smithies with his captain for the opening stint.

The key incentive for the Raiders will be to pin Katoa in his own half. The flourishing ‘Phins 7 was instrumental in slicing the Storm to bits from inside the 30m line, so the Milk must maximise line speed and deny the visitors easy territory.

Expect attacks to come from the sky too. With a backline that includes the Hammer, Farnworth, Bostock, Averillo and Isaako you can bet that the Dolphins halves will be launching a lot of towering bombs once they’re in range. The Raiders remain susceptible to the high ball and need to tighten up kick defusal when the ‘Phins come calling.

On the attack side of the ledger things are just a smidge easier: power up the middle and then mobilise the edges. With Hudson Young being in a supreme purple patch you can bank on lots of ball being distributed to his side, whether it’s a short pass to send him through a gap, or as a decoy/link player to get Kris and Tamale on their way.

This doesn’t mean we should ignore the right-side altogether. Whilst they’re still mending some defensive deficiencies the trio of Nicholson, Timoko and Savage are more than capable of inflicting pain on defenders who aren’t keyed in properly. Look for more running from Doctor Strange as well.

Another challenge for Canberra will be negating the impact of the Dolphins bench, with the likes of Stone, Kerr and Lemuelu instrumental in the turnaround against Melbourne. The Raiders can’t afford to clock off when they come on.

This match marks the beginning of a gauntlet run for the Raiders, with the Storm and Bulldogs following hot on the heels of the ‘Phins. Normally I’d say that this is the most winnable of these three games, but as we saw last week Melbourne aren’t feeling 100% right now and could be vulnerable to a determined Green Machine.

Even if the Raiders come through this period 0-3 I think most fans will be okay as long as they play consistent footy in close contests. The 2025 season remains one of the most erratic competitions in recent memory, with only the Bulldogs keeping their head above water the whole way (so far).

In Conclusion

If the Raiders play smart, sensible footy expect a thrilling clash between these two rising teams. Watch for Hudson Young to go to the next level and for Ata Mariota to continue his excellent form off the bench.

Raiders by a try or two!

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