BY VIV

With two wins under their belts, the Raiders women now have the same number of wins as the Bulldogs, St George. The Raiders have one less win than the Eels, Warriors, and Tigers. Mathematically, we are still in the finals race because we may never lose again. LFG!

This week, our road to the premiership takes us home to play the Wests Tigers. A win keeps our premiership hopes alive AND puts us out of range for the wooden spoon. After last week’s demolition of the Bulldogs, we name an unchanged side. Jordyn Preston strengthens her hold on a starting jersey after leading the stats in tackles (33), tries (2), and running for 108 metres, doubling her run metres from previous weeks. Marley Cardwell was solid on debut. In a ten-minute stint, she had 3 runs for 24 metres and was enthusiastic in defence. It’s great she gets another opportunity to build on that start.

For the Tigers, their big girls Kezie Apps and Sala Togatuki will be looking at how the Bulldogs scored their tries and winding up for some big runs close to the line. New recruit Ruby Fifita made her debut off the bench last week – 7 runs for 77m and 31 tackles, and was rewarded with a starting spot this week.

Their fullback (Monaro’s own) Caitlin Turnbull, has had an outstanding rookie season on the wing and now at fullback. She has scored 6 tries in 8 games. After her next try, Turnbull will be the Tigers’ all-time NRLW try scorer. Losana Lutu is out this week with a virus, and the Tigers will be missing opportunities from her in-game kicking. Instead, they have Jetaya Faifua and Super W recruit Faythe Manera in the halves. Manera does most of their kicking, and the Raiders will want to target her in defence. 

It would be remiss not to acknowledge Zahara Temara reaching the 50-game milestone this week. A foundation NRLW player, Temara’s smart kicking and game management have made her a Raiders favourite. Starting her career as “a little skinny kid” to playing over 100 games for the Burleigh Bears and 24 games for the Roosters before arriving in Canberra. 6 Origin appearances for Queensland, 4 caps for the Jillaroos, and 3 games for the Maori all stars cement her as a legend of our game. 

Take some time to enjoy the Sportress’ favourite Temara moments while you get ready for the game.

Scoring a winning field goal in golden point against the Dragons

Temara smashing the Gold Coast Titans

Raiders by 8!

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