Match day guide and preview for the 2022 NRL Semi Final between the Parramatta Eels and Canberra Raiders.

Match details

• Who: Parramatta Eels vs Canberra Raiders
• When: Friday 16 September, 7.50pm. Gates open at 6.15pm
• Where: CommBank Stadium, Sydney
• Weather: min 13, max 24. 40% chance of rain, 0 to 2 mm
• Click here to buy tickets
• Head-to-head record: Played 62. Eels 30 wins. Raiders 32 wins.
• Winner will play the Cowboys in a Preliminary Final in Townsville.
• The match will be played live on Channel Nine and Fox League. It can also be streamed on Kayo.

Line ups

UPDATE: The Raiders have promoted Horsburgh to start at lock with Harawira-Naera dropping back to the bench. Parramatta have also changed their lock with Matterson moving to the bench and Niukore starting.

The Raiders have been dealt a big blow with Adam Elliot ruled out due to a pelvic injury. Harawira-Naera replaces him at lock with Sutton coming onto the bench after recovering from recent hand surgery.

The Eels are unchanged with halfback Moses set to play after recovering from a nasty head knock last week.

First final

Parramatta Eels 8 – 27 Penrith Panthers at BlueBet Stadium

After beating Penrith twice in the regular season, the Eels were tipped by many to cause another upset but just couldn’t match the Panthers for the full 80 minutes.

The first 50 minutes were as tense as predicted and the Eels were even leading 8-7, but like they do so often, the Panthers ground their opponents down and scored three quick tries to put the game to bed.

While Penrith were already starting to gain momentum, losing Moses in the second half really hurt the Eels, with Jake Arthur unable to have an impact when he came on and Dylan Brown having an off night.

No team wants to go out in straight sets, so this Eels side is under a lot of pressure to get through to a Prelim.

Stat: The Eels have won just 2 of 7 finals under Brad Arthur, dating back to 2017.

Canberra Raiders 28 – 20 Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park

The Raiders made it five wins in a row at AAMI Park with a thrilling eight-point victory that relegated the Storm to their earliest season finish since 2014.

It was an impressive performance from Canberra, with a number of their star players stepping up on the big stage.

Captain Elliott Whitehead had his best game for the season, while Jack Wighton and Jamal Fogarty were fantastic in the halves. However, the best performances came from the front row duo of Joe Tapine and Josh Papalii who consistently made inroads up the middle of the field.

The Raiders came into this finals series with nothing to lose, and will enjoy being the underdogs once again.

Stat: Of the seven times a Ricky Stuart coached side has made finals, they have never been knocked out before a Preliminary Final.

Key matchups

Junior Paulo and Reagan Campbell-Gillard (Eels) vs Joe Tapine and Josh Papalii (Raiders)

The battle of the big boys looks incredibly juicy with some of the best front rowers in the game set to go against each other.

Paulo and Campbell-Gillard are crucial to this Parramatta side and when they get the team moving forward, it allows their creative players to really have an impact. They were both solid without starring against Penrith, with Paulo running for 166 metres with 3 offloads, while Campbell-Gillard ran for 152 metres.

Tapine has been the best prop in the NRL this season and was incredible against Melbourne last week. He ran for 216 metres, had 6 tackle breaks, 3 offloads, 3 line break assists and a try assist in 66 minutes. His front row partner Papalii was back to his best, especially in the second half when the game was on the line, ending the game with 168 metres run and 9 tackle breaks.

Dylan Brown (Eels) vs Jack Wighton (Raiders)

Another mouth-watering clash between two star five-eighths looking to lead their side into a Prelim.

Brown has had a brilliant season both in attack and defence, but he was uncharacteristically quiet against Penrith last week, finishing with just 54 run metres from 6 runs. Even when Moses went off with 20 minutes to go, Brown really didn’t increase his involvement to impose himself on the game.

Meanwhile, Wighton was brilliant for the Raiders and got himself into the game early, bursting through the middle off a Tapine offload that led to the the first try of the game. He ended the game with 106 run metres, 1 line break and 1 try assist in yet another strong performance in a big game.

Last 5 meetings and CommBank Stadium history

• 2022 round 12: Raiders 20 – 28 Eels at GIO Stadium
• 2021 round 19: Eels 10 – 12 Raiders at Cbus Super Stadium
• 2021 round 6: Raiders 10 – 35 Eels at GIO Stadium
• 2020 round 7: Eels 25 – 24 Raiders at Bankwest Stadium
• 2019 round 15: Eels 22 – 16 Raiders at TIO Stadium Darwin

The Eels have a strong recent record over the Raiders, winning four of the last five clashes, including an eight-point victory in Canberra earlier this season.

Canberra were leading that contest 18-16 after a first half that went try for try, but Parramatta’s defence was outstanding in the second half as they scored two tries to none to seal the win.

They have met just once at CommBank Stadium (formerly Bankwest), with Parramatta claiming a 25-24 win in golden point.

Pre match predictions

Lock pick: Corey Harawira-Naera to be the pick of the locks with a try assist. Raiders by 6.

Slip lane: Shaun Lane to slip through the Raiders defence for a try.

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