Match day guide and preview for the 2022 NRL round 22 game between the Canberra Raiders and St George Illawarra Dragons.
Match details
Who: Canberra Raiders vs St George Illawarra Dragons
When: Sunday 14 August 2pm
Where: GIO Stadium Canberra
Weather: min 2 max 11, chance of rain 70%, 1 to 2mm
Head-to-head record: Played 35. Raiders 21 wins. Dragons 13 wins. 1 draw.
Raiders and Dragons team lists
| RAIDERS | DRAGONS | |
| Xavier Savage | 1 | Moses Mbye |
| Albert Hopoate | 2 | Mathew Feagai |
| Matthew Timoko | 3 | Jack Bird |
| Sebastian Kris | 4 | Zac Lomax |
| Jordan Rapana | 5 | Tautau Moga |
| Jack Wighton | 6 | Talatau Amone |
| Jamal Fogarty | 7 | Ben Hunt |
| Josh Papalii | 8 | Jack De Belin |
| Zac Woolford | 9 | Andrew McCullough |
| Emre Guler | 10 | Blake Lawrie |
| Hudson Young | 11 | Josh McGuire |
| Elliott Whitehead | 12 | Jaydn Su’A |
| Adam Elliott | 13 | Michael Molo |
| BENCH | BENCH | |
| Tom Starling | 14 | Tyrell Sloan |
| Ryan Sutton | 15 | Aaron Woods |
| Corey Horsburgh | 16 | Tyrell Fuimaono |
| Corey Harawira-Naera | 17 | Billy Burns |
| RESERVES | RESERVES | |
| James Schiller | 18 | Jayden Sullivan |
| Ata Mariota | 19 | Jackson Ford |
| Matt Frawley | 20 | Jaiyden Hunt |
| Peter Hola | 21 | Cody Ramsey |
| Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | 22 | Jack Gosiewski |
The Raiders have been dealt a massive blow with star front rower Joe Tapine out with a rib injury, while coach Ricky Stuart will also miss the game due to a one week suspension. Xavier Savage returns at fullback with Jordan Rapana shifting to the wing. Corey Horsburgh comes onto the bench after missing a month due to illness.
Francis Molo (ribs) and Tariq Sims (suspension) are both out, with Tyrell Fuimaono and Billy Burns replacing them. Josh McGuire and Michael Molo have been named in the back row as a result. Blake Lawrie plays his 100th NRL game, while star skipper Ben Hunt plays his 100th Dragons game.
Season so far and run home
Raiders 9th | 362 points for | 375 points against | 10 wins & 10 losses | LWWWL
While the infamous Stuart “weak-gutted dog” spray after the match got all the headlines during the week, it deflected from a poor Canberra performance.
Heading into a match on a three game win streak, the Raiders had a perfect opportunity against an undermanned Panthers side last week, but fell well short of the mark in the 26-6 defeat.
Canberra had plenty of the ball inside attacking territory, but they lacked any sort of creativity and never really threatened the Penrith defence.
On the flip side, when the Panthers had their opportunities to score, they made the sloppy Canberra defence pay.
The Raiders will likely need to win their remaining four matches to make finals, but it’s hard to see the club causing much damage even if they do scrape in.
St George Illawarra Dragons 11th | 355 points for | 485 points against | 9 wins & 11 losses | LLWLL
The Dragons have just started to stumble in the race for finals having lost four of the last five matches.
They have been on the end of a few big defeats in recent times, losing to Brisbane 32-18, Roosters 54-26 and Cowboys 34-8, but were more competitive against the Sharks last weekend, falling 24-18.
Ben Hunt has clearly been their best player this season and was instrumental in the Dragons’ 12-10 win over Canberra earlier this season.
Given their poor for and against, the Dragons would need a miracle to play finals but they would still be keen to finish their season a good note.
Last 5 meetings and GIO Stadium history
- 2022 round 16: Dragons 12 – 10 Raiders at WIN Stadium, Wollongong
- 2021 round 21: Raiders 20 – 12 Dragons at Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast
- 2021 round 15: Dragons 22 – 20 Raiders at WIN Stadium, Wollongong
- 2020 round 18: Dragons 8 – 37 Raiders at WIN Stadium, Wollongong
- 2020 round 8: Raiders 22 – 16 Dragons at GIO Stadium, Canberra
While Raiders have won three of the last five contests, the Dragons got the better of them in a controversial finish in round 16 this year.
The Raiders should’ve been awarded a penalty on the siren that would’ve sent the game into golden point, but they were denied the opportunity and the Dragons picked up the two points.
The teams have been evenly matches in recent seasons, with four of the last five games decided by 8 points or less.
In the last ten clashes at GIO Stadium, the Raiders lead the count 8-2.
Pre match predictions
Getting out of a Sticky situation: The Raiders to get the job done without their head coach Sticky. Raiders by 12.
Young money: Hudson Young to play a part in the match winning try in a tight one. Raiders by 6. – Denholm Samaras
Have any predictions of your own? Let us know in the comments below.
Other match details
The match will be broadcast live on Fox League channel 502 at 2pm and 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).
