Canberra Raiders Cup: Round 18 Preview

Two rounds remain in the Blumers Lawyers Canberra Raiders Cup, with each game playing a vital role in who will play in this year's finals series. The highlight being our match of the round, where the Warriors look to cement their top four spot.

West Belconnen Warriors vs Belconnen United Sharks 

3:00pm, Sunday 17th of August at Raiders Belconnen 

This week’s match of the round sees the West Belconnen Warriors take on the Belconnen United Sharks in a must-win clash for the home side.

The Warriors enter this week in search of a must-win clash after falling 40-24 against the Queanbeyan Kangaroos.

West Belconnen assistant coach Adam Lenihan expressed that last week’s send-off only four minutes in, was a major factor in the game’s result.

“Obviously losing a bloke that early in the game made it a different contest then otherwise what it would have been,” Lenihan said. 

“I mean we definitely took positives out of it you know with 12 men. It took us probably 20 minutes to rebalance once we sort of got over the initial shock of only having 12 blokes, and we sort of got a bit of a stability now in our footy.”

Currently, the Warriors sit fourth on the ladder with 17 competition points while the Woden Valley Rams are looking to charge into the top four, sitting in fifth with 15 competition points. So, it’s a must-win for the Warriors in the Belconnen derby.

When asked about this weekend’s matchup, Lenihan reflected on the similarities between the two sides.

“They’ve done really good, they are probably a little bit similar to us, they started the season well and then they had a bad patch and probably didn’t recover from it.”

“We’re probably lucky that our good patch was good enough that we’re still in the hunt, but certainly they’ve got some really good players.”

Meanwhile, the Sharks are coming off a strong 28-18 win against the Yass Magpies and hold a great record in killing any hopes of teams making the top four, with most recently killing the hopes of the Gungahlin Bulls, and they will be aiming to do the same this Sunday.

Sharks’ outside back Adam Booth spoke about the strong commitment the Sharks have put in despite the adversity they have faced this season.

“The kind of next man up mentality that we’ve showed this year I think, through a couple of injuries, through a bit of adversity, and through not so much a drop in belief but you start to see what’s around and see the results and get a bit down on yourself,” Booth said. 

“So, I think our ability to get back up, losing to them last time in a game that we were quite confident we should win at the start of the year, so we really impressed him for us all to get up and give it a real go.”

With the Warriors sitting in the top four, this match will be a tough test for the Belconnen side.

“They’ve been good. I think they’ve been really good in patches and they’re going to be a real good test for us. It’s always a bit of a rivalry back and forth between us two and being the Sunday game this week I think we can get a little bit of buzz around it.”

“A lot of the focus is on ourselves, but we can’t deny that they’re a team that have been going pretty well and we’re just looking to exploit any weakness we can and focus on our own game.”

The Belconnen derby will provide an absolute blockbuster clash with the Sharks looking to put the Warriors' finals hopes in jeopardy, while the Warriors will be aiming to cement their spot in the top four.

Gungahlin Bulls Vs Queanbeyan Kangaroos

3:00 pm, Saturday 16th of August at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval.

The Gungahlin Bulls will host the Queanbeyan Kangaroos this weekend at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval on Saturday afternoon.

Coming fresh off the bye, the Gungahlin Bulls will be looking for a major upset this weekend, although not being able to make finals, they will be aiming to knock off the top of the table Queanbeyan Kangaroos.

Meanwhile, the Kangaroos are coming off the back of a strong 40-24 victory against the Warriors and return to the top of the ladder after leapfrogging over the top of the Queanbeyan Blues.

Both teams have a point to prove in this match-up, with the Roos looking to claim back-to-back minor premierships while the Bulls are looking to charge into the match and claim a huge upset win.

Woden Valley Rams Vs Goulburn City Bulldogs

3:00 pm, Saturday the 16th of August at Phillip Oval.

The Woden Valley Rams return to Phillip Oval to face the Goulburn City Bulldogs as they look to make a push towards a top four spot and book a ticket in this year's finals series.

Woden secured a massive 24-20 upset victory against the Queanbeyan Blues with a try in the dying stages of the match to keep their finals hopes alive.

With a top four spot up for grabs for the Rams, they will have to win this week and next weekend's match with the hopes that the Warriors will lose one of their next two.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are coming off the back of a tight 36-22 loss against the Tuggeranong Bushrangers and will be looking to bounce back this weekend with a victory to make them two wins clear of the wooden spoon.

Yass Magpies Vs Queanbeyan Blues

3:00 pm, Saturday 16th of August at Walker Park.

The Queanbeyan Blues will make the trip up to Walker Park to take on the Yass Magpies this weekend in what will be a must-win to keep in touch with top spot.

Yass entered the latest round of footy with a tough 28-18 loss against Belconnen United, which keeps them at the bottom of the ladder for another week.

The Magpies will be aiming to get a couple of wins under their belt before the seasons end in the hopes that the Bulldogs lose their next two to try and avoid the dreaded wooden spoon.

While the Queanbeyan Blues have lost their last three matches, recently going down 24-20 against the Rams and have currently dropped down to second place with the Roos retaking the top of the ladder.

Both teams are on the hunt to move up the ladder in what is a must-win clash for these two teams; this game could turn into a nail-biter at Walker Park.