Canberra Raiders Cup: Round 11 Preview

Round 11 of the Canberra Raiders Cup promises to be action-packed, with strong matchups set to deliver an exciting day of footy.

Woden Valley Rams v Belconnen United Sharks

3:00pm, Saturday 28th June at Phillip Oval 

The sixth-placed Sharks will travel to Phillip to take on the Rams this Saturday.

The Rams sit comfortably in the top four after their strong 24-18 win against the West Belconnen Warriors last weekend.

Woden Valley's five-eight Sean Maloney missed last week's game after representing the Australian Fire Fighting Brigade against NSW Police at Allianz, however, was pleased with his side's performance.

“By all reports the boys had a good gritty win. Westies are travelling quiet well this year, so it was nice to go to their home ground and knock them off,” Maloney said. 

The Rams return to Phillip Oval this weekend, with this being the site of their best win of the 2025 season, a four-point victory over the ladder leading Blues. 

"I think everyone was looking forward to getting back to Phillip, playing at Boomanulla isn’t ideal. Being back at home with a massive crowd really gets us going. We’ve got our ladies’ day back at Phillip and we will look to have another big crowd there." 

Maloney has slotted into the five-eight position after an injury to Brendan Jiminez at the start of the season and has enjoyed the move in recent weeks. 

"I’ve played a lot of 5/8 throughout my career so it’s not like it’s too new to me, we’ve got a lot of new players this year so it’s more about getting to learn how they want to play and fitting in with them."

Whilst the Sharks come into round 11 fresh off a bye, looking to climb their way up the ladder after a string of losses.

Sharks' winger Adam Booth stated that the bye came at the right time for the side to reflect on their season so far. 

"We’ve identified that we aren’t in the form that we would like to be at this point of the season. We came together and changed our perspective during the bye, and it was a good opportunity to reset and springboard into the second half of the season," Booth said. 

Belconnen United enter this round off the back for four straight losses, with Booth identifying the leadership group as the key to keeping the group together and accountable. 

"Through this rough patch the leadership group has always been meeting together, we’ve been really open about talking about new standards at training and new levels we want to hit."

"Although it hasn’t really come together so far, we are confident that what we’ve been talking about and how we’ve been moving in the right direction it’s going to come together soon."

The Rams will be hoping to kickstart a winning streak and charge their way into third spot, while the Sharks will be aiming to break their winning drought.

Gungahlin Bulls v West Belconnen Warriors

3:00pm, Saturday 28th June at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval 

The Gungahlin Bulls will host the West Belconnen Warriors at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval this Saturday afternoon.

The Warriors fell to the Rams 24-18 last week keeping them third on the ladder. They’ll be looking to bounce back and hold their top three spot with only one point between third and fourth.

The Bulls also come off the back of a close 36-34 loss against the Tuggeranong Bushrangers last weekend.

These two teams were set to face off in round seven but due to a washout round they have had to postpone their meeting until now.

This match will not be one to miss with both teams looking for redemption and to hold cement their spots on the ladder.

Queanbeyan Kangaroos v Goulburn City Bulldogs

3:00pm, Saturday 28th June at Seears Workwear Oval 

The Goulburn City Bulldogs will travel to Seears Workwear Oval to take on the second placed Queanbeyan Kangaroos this Saturday afternoon.

The Kangaroos will be looking to bounce back after suffering their second loss of the season against the top of the table Queanbeyan Blues 48-20.

The Bulldogs also come into the round with a narrow 27-26 loss against the Magpies last week, marking their fifth loss of the season.

Both teams have something to prove this week, with the Roos desperate to close in on top spot and the Bulldogs aiming to climb into sixth place, just one point away.

Yass Magpies v Tuggeranong Bushrangers

3:00pm, Saturday 28th June at Walker Park 

The Yass Magpies will host the Tuggeranong Bushrangers at Walker Park this Saturday.

The Magpies enter round 11 in high spirits after securing their second win of the season 27-26 against the Bulldogs.

The Bushrangers similarly recorded a close win 36-34 against the Bulls at home last weekend, also grabbing their second win of the season.

Tuggeranong sit neck-and-neck on the ladder with Yass, with the outcome of this matchup determining who will take the last spot on the ladder.