Harold Matthews Cup – Preliminary Final
Newcastle Knights v Canberra Raiders: UOW Jubilee Oval, Saturday 29 April, 1pm
The Canberra Raiders will come up against the Newcastle Knights in one of this year’s Harold Matthews Cup Preliminary Final’s on Saturday.
Newcastle have been the inform team this season having gone through the whole year undefeated, while the Raiders won 7/10, finishing their regular season in 5th place on the ladder.
The first round of the finals this season saw Newcastle edge out Illawarra in a high scoring game which earned them the right to have a week off.
Canberra got the better of South Sydney in week one of the finals and in the following week they won a close contest with Cronulla that earned them a spot to face the Knights.
The Raiders last meeting with the Knights was in round two, when the Knights ran out convincing winners in a 42-24 victory at Seiffert Oval.
The clash will definitely we won in defence, as both teams have proven their attacking capabilities this season.
Newcastle wingers Patrick Achurch and Malie-J Townsend have scored 25 tries between them this season as it is clear the Knights ability to find the edges is fierce.
Centre Junior Tupou could be a key factor the Raiders this Saturday having also shown strong form this year, scoring 86 points so far this season.
Tupou kicked 5/5 conversions in last weeks semi-final win over Cronulla as he will look to keep the kicking form this Saturday.
With the Knights looking like a clear favourite, the match will definitely be won in defence and through the middle. The team that gives the other less room to gain momentum and work the ball wide will go a long way to finding victory.
Newcastle Knights Team List: 1. Bradman Best 2. Malie J-Townsend 3. Darcy Heaney 4. Cooper Jenkins 5. Patrick Achurch 6. Max Buderus 7. Kobe Davies 8. Thomas Affleck 9. Mitchell Black 10. Christian Ma’Anaima 11. Riley Meyn 12. Harry Croker 13. Jason Purcell (c) 14. Ryan Potts 15. Tyler Doney 16. Ben Olson 17. Sione Tuitupou Kutu 18. Trentham Petersen 19. Blake Layton 20. Harry Whitfield 23. Jack Jackson
Canberra Raiders Team List: 1. Jacob Church 2. Cooper O’Connor 3. Nicolas Hall 4. Junior Tupou 5. Aidan Gaffey 6. Thomas Croker 7. Jordan Williams 8. Bradley Buckley 9. Mitchel Souter 10. Jesse Thompson (c) 11. Jack Williams 12. Clay Webb 13. Adam Barlow 14. Isimeli Vaili 15. Tyson Kelly 16. Wezley Alexander 17. William Hills 18. Mladen Zec 19. Neueli Mariner 20. Ryan Sanderson 21. Fred Griffiths
