Match day guide and preview for the Raiders 2022 NRL round 15 game against the Knights.
Match details
Who: Canberra Raiders vs Newcastle Knights
When: Sunday 19 June 2pm
Where: GIO Stadium Canberra
Weather: min 0 max 15, chance of rain 10%
Head-to-head record: Played 52. Raiders 27 wins. Knights 23 wins. 2 draws.
Raiders and Knights team lists
| RAIDERS | KNIGHTS | |
| Xavier Savage | 1 | Kalyn Ponga |
| Nick Cotric | 2 | Edrick Lee |
| Matthew Timoko | 3 | Dane Gagai |
| Sebastian Kris | 4 | Enari Tuala |
| Jordan Rapana | 5 | Dominic Young |
| Matt Frawley | 23 | 6 | Anthony Milford |
| Jamal Fogarty | 7 | 21 | Jake Clifford |
| Josh Papalii | 8 | David Klemmer |
| Zac Woolford | 9 | Chris Randall |
| Joe Tapine | 10 | Jacob Saifiti |
| Hudson Young | 11 | Tyson Frizell |
| Elliott Whitehead | 12 | Mitchell Barnett |
| Adam Elliott | 13 | Kurt Mann |
| BENCH | BENCH | |
| Tom Starling | 14 | Simi Sasagi |
| Ryan Sutton | 15 | Leo Thompson |
| Corey Horsburgh | 17 | 16 | Mat Croker |
| James Schiller | 19 | 17 | Pasami Saulo |
| RESERVES | RESERVES | |
| Corey Harawira-Naera | 16 | 18 | Phoenix Crossland |
| Brad Schneider | 18 | 20 | Lachlan Fitzgibbon |
Five-eighth Jack Wighton has been ruled out due to COVID with Matt Frawley named to replace him. Raiders winger Jordan Rapana returns from a one-week suspension with James Schiller dropping to the bench and Corey Harawira-Neara out of the 17.
The Knights have moved Mitch Barnett to the second row, with Kurt Mann at lock and Lachlan Fitzgibbon dropping out of the 17. Adam Clune has come from the reserves list to replace Jake Clifford at halfback.
Season so far
Raiders 11th | 250 points for | 291 points against | 6 wins & 8 losses | LWLWW
The Raiders’ effort has improved dramatically since the first eight rounds, but they are just lacking some polish to be able to beat the good teams.
They had every opportunity to beat the injury-hit Broncos last week but couldn’t come up with points when they needed to.
The lack of continuity with the spine has again been an issue. The halves combination of Wighton and Fogarty still looks like a work in progress, while Woolford and Savage are still learning their craft.
Canberra are right in the mix of a bunch of teams fighting for a spot in the bottom half of the eight and this is simply a game they must win.
Knights 12th | 166 points for | 342 points against | 4 wins & 9 losses | LWLWL
The Knights burst out of the blocks in the opening two weeks but have won just two of their last eleven since.
While they sit 12th on the ladder, they have the worst for and against (-176) in the NRL which is a big concern for a club that has played finals the last two seasons.
They have significant issues in attack, having scored under ten points in six games this season, while defensively they have let in 30 or more points on seven occasions.
Newcastle are still only a couple of games outside of the eight, but they would need a drastic form turnaround to make a finals challenge from here.
Last 5 meetings and GIO Stadium history
- 2021 round 20: Knights 34 – 24 Raiders at Suncorp Stadium
- 2021 Round 9: Raiders 16 – 24 Knights at McDonalds Park
- 2020 Round 4: Raiders 18 – 34 Knights at Campbelltown Stadium
- 2019 Round 3: Raiders 17 – 10 Raiders at GIO Stadium
- 2018 Round 2: Raiders 28 – 30 Knights at GIO Stadium
The Knights have a terrific recent record over Canberra having won four of the last five, including the last three straight.
Newcastle won both matchups last year, coming back from 16-0 down at half time in the first match in Wagga before blowing the Raiders off the park early in their second match.
Since 2010, the sides have met ten times at GIO Stadium with the Raiders holding a 6-4 edge over the Knights.
Player spotlight
Raiders – Xavier Savage
Savage spent the first five rounds as the Raiders 18th man but has played every game since, including the last three as the starting fullback.
The 20-year-old has shown glimpses of his elite potential with a couple of great tries but has also illustrated why Ricky Stuart was hesitant to throw him into the fullback role with a few crucial errors.
He tried his heart out against the Broncos last week with 236 run metres and two line breaks, but unfortunately came up with a few errors that cost the Raiders points.
It’s impossible to expect perfection from a young fullback still finding his way in the NRL, but there is certainly plenty to get excited about for Raiders’ fans with Savage.
Knights – Kalyn Ponga
The Knights fullback hasn’t had the greatest season for his club, but Ponga has terrorised the Raiders in recent meetings.
Over the Knights’ current three match win streak over Canberra, Ponga has scored three tries, had three line breaks, five line break assists, five try assists and 20 tackle breaks.
He has done a lot of his damage down the left side of the field, so the Raiders right edge defence will need to be better prepared than they have been in recent times.
Newcastle is the worst attacking team in the NRL, so if the Raiders can shut down Ponga, they don’t have many other weapons that could hurt them.
Pre match predictions
Knights with no armour: The Raiders to score 40 or more points for the first time since round 20 2019. Raiders by 28.
A-list Rapa: Jordan Rapana to bring his A game on return from suspension with a try and 100+ run metres.– Denholm Samaras
Other match details
The match will be broadcast live on Fox League channel 502 at 2pm. It is also available to stream on Kayo. Overseas fans can watch via Watch NRL.
You can listen to the match on Raiders on Mix (Mix106.3 FM), Radio 2CC (1206 AM) and ABC Grandstand (666 ABC AM).
The Raiders take on the Knights in the NSW Cup at 11.30am, prior to the NRL game.
Have any pre match predictions of your own? Let us know in the comments below.
