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The Canberra Raiders took a golden point win over the Newcaslte Knights on Sunday afternoon, needing to come from behind to escape with a victory over the NRL’s 16th-placed side.
» Click here for the full match report
Final score
Raiders 29
Knights 25
» What’s next? Follow our Rabbitohs vs Cowboys live blog
The Raiders will be looking for a big home win to keep in touch with the top four when they face the cellar-dwelling Knights on Sunday in Canberra. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 2pm (AEST).
On paper and current form this looks a heinous mismatch – a Canberra side looking to assert its position in the congested upper echelons of the ladder against a horrible Knights team that has lost nine games in a row, has a for-and-against of -341 and posses a sum total of three premiership points.
To look for a positives, Knights fans could take some encouragement from the fact that one of those premiership points came in the Round 3 24-24 draw against Canberra, with the Raiders needing a last-minute try to Jordan Rapana to get the game to golden point. Before that draw, the Raiders and Knights had split the last ten games at five apiece.
But let’s be realistic folks, the outcome of this game is dependent on how focused the Raiders are and how long Newcastle can hold out against the waves of attacks from BJ Leila, Rapana, Jarrad Croker and the steamrolling Josh Papalii.
There’s not much to say in team news, with both sides naming unchanged lineups from last week. The Raiders are coming off a 30-22 win up on the Gold Coast while the Knights went down to St George 30-18 in a reasonable performance, one which seemingly pleased Coach Nathan Brown so much he named an unchanged side for the first time this season. Some consistency at the selection table might help the Knights as they look to build their team for the years ahead.
Robbie Rochow made a welcome return for the Knights last week and while he’s been named on the bench, he should play more minutes and give a bit more defensive starch to the forwards. Up and coming forward Mitch Barnett will be looking to make an impact against his old side after a midseason move to the Hunter.
While the Raiders named an unchanged team, they left Robina with injury concerns to Josh Hodgson, Kurt Baptiste, Jack Wighton and Sia Soliola and with that many key players dinged up, there’s still the chance of the seemingly weekly Ricky Stuart selection ‘smokescreen’.
Prediction
If the Raiders are serious about making any noise in 2016 they’ll be out there to put this one to bed early. The Knights will be looking to build on their efforts from last week, but this should be a bridge too far.
Raiders by 22.
Will the Raiders stay focused and take care of business, or can the Knights stand up and cause a massive shock? Join us from 2pm (AEST) to find out.