The Canberra Raiders will head to Wagga Wagga for Round 8 as they host the Penrith Panthers and aim to bounce back after last week’s narrow loss. Here are five things to look forward to.
Joey’s 200th NRL Match
Joey Leulia will line up this weekend in what will be his 200th professional match in the NRL, with it being his 87th for the Raiders.
Leulia arrived at the Raiders in 2015 after stints with the Sydney Roosters and Newcastle Knights and has been a consistent force for the Green Machine since his arrival.
The 2016 and 2018 Dally M Centre of the Year has scored a total of 39 tries for Canberra, as well as already bagging himself four tries this season, and will be hoping to celebrate this milestone by adding to his tally this weekend.
Wagga Wagga Return
The Canberra Raiders will head to Wagga Wagga for just their second ever NRL match this weekend when they face the Penrith Panthers.
The only other match played at Wagga Wagga by the Raiders was during the 1985 season, where they faced the Bulldogs in a 16-6 loss in Canberra’s fourth season as a club.
The Green Machine will head to McDonald’s Park for this weekend’s home Reginal match looking for a win, with the match kicking off at 3:00 pm.
Panthers Nail-Biters
The Raiders will be looking to bounce back after last weekend’s loss, however, if history tells us anything this weekend’s match against the Panthers will look to be a close one.
Over the past four years, each encounter with the Panthers has resulted in a nail-biting result, including the 2016 semi-final match between the two sides with two late penalty goals from Jarrod Croker cementing a 22-12 win.
With an impressive performance last weekend from Jack Wighton and the on-going strength and confidence from Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, the Raiders will hope to be victorious over the Penrith Panthers.
Winger Wonderland
Canberra Raiders wingers Jordan Rapana and Nick Cotric will hope to continue their 100% scoring records against the Panthers this weekend.
Nick Cotric has scored four times in four matches against the Penrith side, whilst Rapana has crossed eight times in over eight appearances for the Green Machine.
Both players have scored twice for the Raiders this season, with both the 2017 Dally M Rookie of the Year and the 2017 Dally M Winger of the Year hoping to add more on the board in Round 8.
Rural Viking Clap
This weekend, The Canberra Raiders will run out to their first ever Viking Clap done outside of GIO Stadium when they play at Wagga Wagga.
With McDonald’s Park holding a total of 10,000 fans, the Canberra Raiders will be looking for their Wagga Wagga supporters to come along and join in with the notorious Viking Clap to help cheer them on.
The Raiders will be hoping a win out in Wagga this weekend can rekindle their impressive form during 2019 and that an energetic crowd can help drag them over the line against the Panthers this Saturday afternoon.
