NRL Match Preview: Raiders v Titans
The Canberra Raiders will return home to take on the Gold Coast Titans at GIO Stadium in round three this Saturday night.
The Raiders will be looking to bounce back after a disappointing loss to the Cowboys in round two. They will have to be at their best against the Titans, who picked up their first win of the season last weekend in a thrilling match against the Warriors.
The Green Machine welcome back Jordan Rapana to the side, who will line-up on the wing in place of James Schiller for his first game of the season after serving his two-match suspension. Brad Schneider has also been named at halfback after missing last week due to COVID isolation.
Matt Frawley drops to the bench in the number 14 jersey with Sebastian Kris and Adrian Trevilyan moving back to the extended squad.
Tom Starling will continue to start at hooker for the foreseeable future after the sad news that Josh Hodgson will require season ending surgery.
Last Time They Met
The Raiders suffered a very disappointing 44-6 loss to the Titans in Round 16 of last season but were able to claim a 20-4 victory in round four earlier that year.
Key Match-ups
Elliot Whitehead vs Tino Fa’asuamaleaui
It will be a big battle this weekend between the two captains, with whoever can make the biggest impact in the middle of the field will be a major deciding factor on who gets the victory this weekend.
Elliot Whitehead was great in defence last week, topping the tackle count for the match with 37 tackles with a tackle efficiency of 94.87%.
Tino Fa’asuamaleaui was very impressive in his side's victory in round two against the Warriors. He ran for 126 metres with 53 of those being post-contact and also topped his sides tackle count with 31.
Both captains will be looking to make their presence known in the middle with their attack and defence this weekend.
Corey Harawira-Naera v David Fifita
Corey Harawira-Naera will need to be at his best up against one of the best back-rowers in the competition in David Fifita.
Harawira-Naera has been one of the Raiders best in the first two rounds of the competition, scoring the only try for the Raiders last week and being one of only two players to break the line.
Fifita hasn't been up to his usual standard in the first two rounds but the Queensland representative is still averaging 96 running metres across the first two games.
Both of these players will be looking to dominate their edges, both with the ball and without it on Saturday night.
Matt Timoko v Brian Kelly
It will be an electrifying battle between two of the best young centres in the competition in Matt Timoko and Brian Kelly.
It's been an impressive start to the season for young Timoko, who has proven to be a lethal weapon outside of Jack Wighton on the left side breaking 11 tackles in the first two games of the season.
Brain Kelly has also been an important part of his side's attack, running for over 100 metres in the first two games and already has two tries to his name.
Both players have been impressive to start the season and both centres will be wanting to inject themselves into the game as often as possible to try and get their side the win.
Head to Head
The Raiders and Titans have faced each other 27 times, with the Raiders having the advantage of winning 14 of those matches compared to the Titans 13.
