Canberra Raiders Cup: Round 12 Preview
As we enter the back half of the season, the Blumers Lawyers Canberra Raiders Cup ladder tightens with only two points separating five teams ahead of finals.
West Belconnen Warriors vs Tuggeranong Bushrangers 3:00 pm, Sunday 9th July at Raiders Belconnen
It’s fourth versus fifth this weekend as both teams set to fight it out for top four as the ladder condenses even further towards the season’s end.
In an important game for both teams, the match of the round adds extra emphasis to the weight this game holds, with a win for either team to push them to second on the ladder pending other results.
The Warriors were victorious in the last time these two sides met, winning 16-4 away from home back in round three.
Tuggeranong winger Jack Davison scored four tries in their 46-6 point win against Goulburn City Bulldogs last weekend taking his total to ten tries this season.
The win will give the Bushies tons of confidence to rectify their loss to the Warriors earlier in the year.
Bushrangers second-rower Josh Eppleston applauded Davison’s efforts and hopes to build on their big win.
“He’s a freak, isn’t he? He had a week off sick, but he came back and made up for it that’s for sure,” Eppleston said.
“They were premiers last year and there’s a reason for that, we haven’t taken any games lightly but we are looking forward to it.”
The Warriors know what they have to do to take down the Bushies after comfortably defeating them earlier in the year.
“We are just trying to find a bit more consistency, get a few more wins on the board”, Warriors centre Brandon Withers said.
“It’s going to be a tough game coming up against them, we’ve got to be up for it.”
Goulburn City Bulldogs vs Woden Valley Rams 3:00 pm, Saturday 8th July, Workers Arena
The Bulldogs will look to fend off the red-hot Rams when they play in front of their home crowd at Workers Arena on Saturday.
The Rams are coming off a loss last round to top of the table Kangaroos, but they will not let that deter them from the task at hand this weekend.
In a rough run of fixtures, the Bulldogs will play another top-four team in three consecutive weeks coming off losses to Bushrangers and Kangaroos.
The sixth-placed Bulldogs are still in contention for finals football but will have to score more than the six points scored last weekend if they are to have any chance of making the top four.
If the Bulldogs are to be victorious on Saturday, they will be tied on points with second-placed Rams as the fight for top four intensifies.
Gungahlin Bulls vs Yass Magpies 4:00 pm, Saturday 8th July, Gungahlin Enclosed Oval
The battle to get off the bottom of the ladder awaits this weekend as the Bulls take on Magpies who are both tied on four points each.
A win for either side will assist them in erasing the ‘wooden spoon’ tag come the end of the season with Yass heading into this game with a win under their belt last weekend.
The Magpies defeated the Blues at home in round eleven, now equalling the Bulls on competition points, completing their sets and putting 36 points on the board.
This game will be a great chance for the Bulls to snap their four game losing streak and go above the Blues if results from around the grounds go their way.
Both teams attacking and defensive records this season have been on par, making this game a tough one to pick ahead of their 4pm game on Saturday at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval.
*The Queanbeyan Blues have forfeited their round 12 match against the Belconnen United Sharks.
