The Toyota Forklifts Canberra Raiders return home to take on the Bulldogs this Saturday afternoon, aiming for their sixth straight win in-front of a sell-out crowd at GIO Stadium.
Despite a slow start last weekend, the Raiders came back with a magical effort, levelling the score 18-all with only 30 seconds left in the clash, taking the game to golden point last Sunday.
A penalty conversion by the Raiders in extra time secured the 20-18 win over the Storm, handing them their fifth win in a row.
The Bulldogs have also had a strong start to the season, with six straight wins before losing to the Broncos in round eight.
Last week they defeated the Titans 38-18 and will be looking to take down the second placed Raiders on Saturday.
Talking points
- Raiders’ prop Ata Mariota will be playing his 50th NRL game this Saturday.
- Coach Ricky Stuart has named an unchanged line up from last week’s team.
- The Raiders have won nine out of their past ten games against the Bulldogs.
- The Bulldogs are chasing their first win against the Raiders at GIO Stadium Canberra since 2015.
- Raiders centre Matthew Timoko has scored four tries in his last four clashes against the Bulldogs.
- Raiders second-row Hudson Young has scored six times in his last four appearances at GIO Stadium.
- Bulldogs centre Stephen Crichton has a good record against Canberra, scoring nine tries in seven games.
Last time they met
Last time these two teams met the Bulldogs just won, defeating the Raiders 22-18 at Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney.
Head-to-head
Since 1998, these two teams have faced off 43 times, with the Raiders claiming victory on 24 occasions.
Key Matchup
Tom Starling vs Reed Mahoney
The quick darting dummy half for the Raiders has been superb to start the 2025 season. Tom Starling has been one of Canberra’s many consistent players and will look to show how dangerous he is through the middle of the ruck on Saturday.
He has been a tackling machine in the middle making a total of 337 tackles, ranking ninth in the league with an efficiency of 92%. The little hooker is not afraid of any big forward and is always the first man to make the tackle.
Starlings' attack has also been electric and loves to run out from dummy half to spot the markers offside or run through large gaps in defence. He currently ranks sixth in the league with 34 dummy half runs, and his eyes up footy has been superb to start the season.
Starling was a headache for the opposition in the Raiders' win against the Storm. His terrific rushing defence and chirpiness on the field hurt the Storm's discipline. His partnership with the Raiders’ forwards has been astronomical and will continue to do the same this week against the Bulldogs.
On the other hand, Reed Mahoney has been key in the Bulldogs' attack to start the season and has been involved in five try-scoring involvements for his side. Mahoney’s defence has also been another factor in the Bulldogs' wins, with an efficiency of 89.5% and making a total of 323 tackles.
This key matchup is one too look out for in this top of the table clash as both these hookers have had a terrific start to the 2025 season.
