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The Canberra Raiders took another 2017 victory with a 12-point win over the New Zealand Warriors on Saturday.
Final score
Canberra Raiders 20
New Zealand Warriors 8
The Canberra Raiders will be out to keep building on their run of form when they host a New Zealand Warriors side who have had a shocking time in Australia’s capital. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 5:30pm (AEST).
The Raiders started the season well below expectations, but didn’t take long to put their best foot forward and after almost upsetting the Brisbane Broncos away from home, they come into this clash on the back of two straight victories.
The problem for Canberra is that it still leaves them with plenty of work to do and a record that only reads three wins and three losses.
Neither of their victories were ones that put them severely to the test either as they beat an ordinary Parramatta Eels outfit and then the injury-ravaged Gold Coast Titans last weekend.
For that reason, it’s hard to get a true gauge on their form but their attack, which is oh-so-dangerous is starting to come to life and it showed up last week as they ran in 42 points.
The lethal combination of Jordan Rapana and Joey Leilua, with halves Aiden Sezer and Blake Austin directing traffic could run up a serious number in this match against a vulnerable Warriors defence. Stability is also key for the Raiders and they have made no changes for this contest.
The Warriors also come in unchanged, but they have some mountains to climb. Their defence has been bordering on woeful at times this year and while they have improved on both ends of the park in the last fortnight with Kieran Foran back, they still have a long way to go.
Like the Raiders, New Zealand have got their season somewhat back on track in the last fortnight with wins over the Eels and Titans. They still look like a club destined for the bottom half of the table though and have plenty to turnaround.
It’s going to be tough for the Auckland-based club to convince anyone of their strength at the moment. They lost three of their first four quite badly and with defence opening up like the Red Sea it wasn’t hard to see why.
While their attack has more than ‘pass it to Shaun Johnson and see what happens’ now, neither of their last two wins were strong and their losses are still what hangs in the memory.
Given the club have won just three out of 14 in Canberra since their inception, it piles the odds against them.
Prediction
Canberra could win this heavily. The Warriors are still yet to convince me they have what it takes to get it done, especially away from home and Canberra’s attack is starting to roll. The margin below could even be a conservative one if the Raiders get a fast start.
Raiders by 22.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this Round 7 match from 5:30pm (AEST) and don’t forget to add your own comments throughout the course of the coverage.