BY VIV
Round three, the Parramatta Eels make the trek to Canberra to end our stretch of home games. The Eels started their season with a surprise win over the Sharks, followed by a 14-0 loss to the Warriors. It’s hard to get a feel for where the Eels sit in our competition. The Eels have shown they can take it to the top teams but lack consistency. They finished with the spoon last year, but only 2 points behind the Raiders on the ladder.
They have Abbi Church and Rory Owen, who was the 2024 NRLW rookie of the year and made her Queensland debut this year. The Eels are missing Mahalia Murphy due to injury, which is a good thing for the Raiders, as the last thing we need is another bulked-up ex-winger carving us to shreds in the middle.
Borthwick has made changes in response to last week’s thrashing. The Chey Robins-Reti fullback experiment has thankfully drawn to a close. Chey returns to the centres, making way for the Elise Simpson era. The people have been calling for it – the Raiders need pace, and Simpson has it in spades:
Other changes include returning Georgia Thomas to the number 6 jersey to see if she can build on her debut against St George. She will need to take on more this week to relieve the pressure on Zahara Temara.
Mackenzie Wiki is missing this week. It’s unfortunate, but someone had to slide out of the backline for CRR to return. Tufuga and Waterman have been solid, and Madi Bartlett is still scoring most of our points.
The other player missing this week is Emma Barnes (concussion). The team list this week features a forward-heavy bench of Lili Boyle, Grace Kemp, Jordyn Preston, and Tatiana Finau. I wouldn’t be surprised if Naitokatoka is a late swap into the side; her value as a utility provides an option for when Chante Temara needs a rest or can move into the five-eighth position if required.
Kere Matua is on the extended bench after lining up for Mounties last week. Could a return to the main squad be on the cards in the next couple of weeks? She has been battling an ankle injury.
The other cellar dwellers face each other this week (Titans vs Tigers), so a win will take us out of last place. Let’s get this done, Raiders by 4.
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