BY ROB

Round 21 sees the Green Machine host the Novocastrians after the Knights took on the Raiders in Newcastle back in round 17. The win in round 17 propelled the Raiders into 1st place on the ladder where they’ve since remained. The Knights meanwhile hovered at 13th before ultimately dropping to 14th in round 20, their season effectively now finished.

Despite criticism around a 30 minute drop in intensity against the Eels last week the Raiders were the clear winners of round 20. They finished with a 24 point margin over Parramatta, while the Dogs only just snuck past the Dragons and the Storm lost to Manly.

Coach Stuart will no doubt have been prepping his side for yet another spirited ambush from a team all but finished for 2025. Whilst Newcastle may effectively be done for this year they still boast a capable 17, even with names like Ponga, Elliott and Sharpe currently unavailable.

Seb Kris will miss this game due to concussion, which sees the Raiders versatile handyman Simi Sasagi slot into the centre spot alongside Jed Stuart. Simi’s elevation to the starting side gives young Noah Martin another crack at the bench role where he’s already impressed this year.

The Knights remain unchanged from last week, but as previously mentioned they’re without some big names. Arguably the biggest omission due to injury isn’t Kalyn Ponga but rather his understudy Fletcher Sharpe, who’s been experiencing a breakout year in the role. Bradman Best is rumoured to be out for this game but we’ll have to wait on team list updates for confirmation.

If the Raiders can do what they’ve done for the majority of the season they should chalk up another win. Their real strength is how they stay composed in the second half, even if their opponents do mount a sturdy comeback. The Milk’s ability to not panic and curdle is fascinating. They simply play to their strengths, work towards possession and completion and then proceed to terrorise the other side.

That terror is currently focussed through one player in particular – Kaeo Weekes. He might not have grabbed a try last week but he was still heavily involved in the attack. Savage’s try came off a beautiful grubber from Weekes, while Timoko’s ultimately disallowed effort was borne from a Weekes line break that came from nowhere (as they so often do).

The psychological effect of Weekes on opposing sides means they’re often not keyed in on the other 12 Raiders on the field, which means the Green Machine can punish them from nearly any position. Stuart and Sasagi looked like old friends against the Eels left edge, and they’ll be playing outside of the lethal combo of Young and Strange, the latter whom was in scintillating form again last week.

In Conclusion

A successful Raiders side is hard to write about, especially when in preview mode. These games are now essentially about fine tuning the Green Machine, and Sticky will have the delicious ice-cream headache of extra depth once Nicholson and Tamale return. If they approach this game with the same ethos and attitude they’ve had all season then things should be pretty straightforward.

Raiders by 12+ again with a huge helping of line breaks!

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