Expert
Raiders 56
Titans 16
A massive win this afternoon for the Canberra Raiders as they run up 56 points to just 16 on the Gold Coast Titans from Canberra Stadium on what was a beautiful afternoon for Rugby League.
The Raiders dominated the first half on the scoreboard against the Gold Coast Titans but were sloppy themselves at times with plenty of penalties and errors given away. The Titans also gave away plenty of penalties and dropped the ball too much.
The Raiders however took their opportunities better taking into account some really poor defence by the Titans who are missing Greg Bird greatly out there.
After a fairly even start to the game It was Blake Austin who started the scoring off the back of a scrum and that was just the first of some horrible defence from the Titans. The Titans were able to hit back just 3 minutes later through Anthony Don but from there it was all the Raiders with tries to Paul Vaughan, Jarod Croker and Jordan Rapana.
The Titans were able to hit back right on the stroke of half time through Anthony Don who got his second try off the back of a brilliant pass from Elgey.
At half time the score was 24 -10.
Coming back out for the second half the Titans started the second half much better than they played the first. Anthony Don was able to get his hat rick with a try to launch the scoring in the second half bringing the Titans back into the game. At that point it was hard to tell which way the game was going to go but from there it was all one way traffic.
Blake Austin was the first Raider to score in the second half and then they ran on another 5 tries in just 18 minutes. Tries went to Croker, Papalii, Soliola, Lee and Williams. The try in particular to Lee put the pain on the Titans as it brought up the 50 points for the Raiders and he outran James Roberts who he had just had a dust up with a couple of minutes earlier.
There was however, plenty of emotion in the clash with a number of occasions when the players came in and had a push and a shove. For the Raiders the best on ground were Austin and Hodgson, whilst all their forwards stood up and Rapana was brilliant on the wing. For the Titans there wasn’t much to cheer about but Sezer looked good and Hoffman was good in attack.
In the end though the Raiders dominating the game.
The Canberra Raiders take on the in-form Gold Coast Titans at Canberra Stadium in what should be a high-scoring game. Join The Roar from 2:45pm (AEST) for live scores and coverage.
The Raiders have had a very inconsistent start to the season, winning four games and losing four games. However, this still keeps them in the mix at 10th on what is a very close NRL ladder after eight rounds.
Last time out the Raiders travelled to Cairns and managed to beat the South Sydney Rabbitohs in a massive upset.
The Titans meanwhile had an abysmal start to their season, dropping the first four games on the trot before a less-than-convincing win against the Cronulla Sharks kick-started their season.
Since then they have won four games on the trot, accounting for the Parramatta Eels, the Penrith Panthers and the New Zealand Warriors.
The biggest thing about those three most recent victories for the Titans was that they all came in convincing fashion, leaving them in seventh place on the table.
In team news, the Raiders have named an unchanged team from the one that beat the Rabbitohs. There were doubts over Jordan Rapana but he has been cleared to play.
Meanwhile, the Titans have widespread changes. Dave Taylor, Daniel Mortimer and Mark Ioane come back into the side, with Lachlan Burr moving to lock for the suspended Greg Bird. This means Taylor will play in the second row, with Ioane and Mortimer on the bench.
Kierran Moseley comes into the starting side at hooker to replace Beau Falloon who is out with injury. Matt Robinson has dropped out of the side with Davin Crampton 18th man.
The key battle in this game looks to be in the halves. Blake Austin has been in superb form, earning himself a call-up to the City versus Country game last weekend. He is joined in the halves by Sam Williams who when playing well is very dangerous.
Aidan Sezer has been in incredibly good form for the Titans, and his kicking game has been one of the best in the competition, while Kane Elgey is really finding his feet in his rookie season and complementing Sezer well.
For the Raiders to win this game they are going to need to shut down the Titans’ outside men who have been lethal. Canberra’s defence is going to have to be on guard against the speed that the Titans display on the edges.
Prediction
The Raiders will put up a good fight but the Titans look to have too much for them across the park and their form of late has been excellent.
Titans by 10.
Join The Roar from 2:45pm (AEST) for what should be a free-flowing, high-scoring and entertaining game of rugby league. Be sure to leave your comments throughout the game in the section below!