The Toyota Forklifts Canberra Raiders will welcome the fourth-placed Brisbane Broncos to a full house this weekend, as GIO Stadium plays host to Sunday afternoon's qualifying final.
With it all to play for, the Raiders and Broncos will face each other for the first time since round two in hopes of booking a spot in a preliminary final.
Match: Raiders v Broncos
Finals Week 1 -
home Team
Raiders
1st Position
away Team
Broncos
4th Position
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
Last week’s clash against the Dolphins saw the green machine give several of the NRL’s hardest works a week off, making way for a fresh-faced Raiders outfit with four debutants to venture up to Redcliffe in the last game of the Regular season.
Meanwhile, the Broncos are riding high after recording four wins from their past five, including a commanding 30-14 victory over the Melbourne Storm last Thursday.
The Raiders and Broncos have not met in a game of finals footy since 1995, when the likes of Laurie Daley, Brett Mullins and Ricky Stuart himself donned the green.
Talking Points:
- The Raiders welcome 10 members of their first-grade side back after being rested in the final round of the season.
- The Broncos have named an unchanged lineup from last weekend's win over the Storm.
- Returning backrower Matty Nicholson will round out the Raiders' side as 18th man.
- Broncos captain and halfback Adam Reynolds remains sidelined with a hamstring injury.
- Raiders five-eighth Ethan Strange has scored seven tries in his last six games at GIO Stadium.
- The Broncos have lost four of their last five games at GIO Stadium.
- The Raiders have won nine of their 10 games at GIO Stadium this season.
Last time they met:
Last time these two teams met, the Raiders beat the Broncos 32-22 at GIO Stadium in Canberra during round 2, 2025.
Head-to-head:
Since 1998, the Raiders have played the Broncos 41 times, winning 17 of them and drawing 1 for a 41% efficiency rate.
Key Match Up:
Payne Haas v Joseph Tapine
The two leaders of their respective packs are set for an explosive match throughout the middle of the field and will look to lead their team from the front in what will be an exciting week one finals matchup.
The best captains have stood tall for the Canberra Raiders over many years, Mal Menninga, Ricky Stuart, Laurie Daley, Alan Tongue, Jason Croker, and Jarrod Croker. This year, it has been Joseph Tapine who has led his Raiders to their first Minor Premierships since 1990 and is set to go another level in the 2025 finals series.
This season alone, Joseph Tapine has had his best season to date. Since making his captaincy debut this season, Tapine has really turned into quite the leader for Ricky's Raiders.
Tapine’s work rate and leadership have carried the Raiders to their best season in their history. He has been instrumental in the Raiders' attack, recording 1225 post-contact meters, which places him 13th overall in the NRL.
The crowd will be cheering for the Raiders to get over the line, but most importantly, it will be Tapine to lead his team from the front and aim to book the Raiders' first home preliminary final since 2019.
On the other hand, the big wrecking ball of Payne Haas has taken the competition by storm and has dominated many upon many of forward packs across the season.
Haas’s most dangerous attribute is his dangerous running game; he currently ranks fourth within the NRL with 117 tackle breaks and is the only front rower within the top 25.
On many occasions, Haas has put his team on his back and carried them over the line when they need him the most. Ever since Origin, Haas has gone to another level and has dominated many matches with his dangerous running game and strength within the middle of the field.
The winner of this explosive match will no doubt depend on which forward pack wants it the most, as it will be one of the fiery forward pack clashes of the season.
