Match day guide and preview for the Canberra Raiders 2022 NRL round 4 game against the Manly Sea Eagles.
Who, when and where?
Manly Sea Eagles vs Canberra Raiders
Saturday 2 April, 5.30pm @Glen Willow Oval, Mudgee NSW.
Click here to buy tickets. Gates open 2.30pm
Head-to-head record: Played 60. Raiders 22 wins. Manly 37 wins. 1 draw.
Raiders and Manly team lists
| Canberra Raiders | Manly Sea Eagles | |
| Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | 1 | Tom Trbojevic |
| Nick Cotric | 2 | Jason Saab |
| Matt Timoko | 3 | Brad Parker |
| Semi Valemei | 4 | Morgan Harper |
| Jordan Rapana | 5 | Reuben Garrick |
| Jack Wighton | 6 | Kieran Foran |
| Brad Schneider | 7 | Daly Cherry-Evans |
| Josh Papalii | 8 | Sean Keppie |
| Tom Starling | 9 | Lachlan Croker |
| Joe Tapine | 10 | Martin Taupau |
| Hudson Young | 11 | Haumole Oklakau’atu |
| Corey Harawira-Naera | 12 | Andrew Davey |
| Elliott Whitehead | 13 | Jake Trbojevic |
| Bench | ||
| Matt Frawley | 14 | Dylan Walker |
| Emre Guler | 15 | Karl Lawton |
| Adam Elliott | 16 | Ethan Bullemor |
| Corey Horsburgh | 17 | Taniela Paseka |
| Reserves | ||
| Xavier Savage | 18 | Toafofoa Sipley |
| Ryan Sutton | 19 | Josh Aloiai |
| Adrian Trevilyan | 20 | Tolutau Koula |
| James Schiller | 21 | Jorge Taufua |
| Sam Williams | 22 | Kurt De Luis |
| Trey Mooney | 23 | Christian Tuipulotu |
| Peter Hola | 24 | Alec Tuitavake |
Canberra Raiders
The Raiders have made just the one change with Nick Cotric set to return from a quad strain, while Seb Kris has moved onto the COVID list.
Manly Sea Eagles
Manly has named the same 17 that got the job done against the Bulldogs last week. Josh Aloiai has served his suspension and has been named as a reserve.
Season so far
Canberra Raiders 7th | 54 points for | 67 points against | 2 wins & 1 loss | WLW
The Raiders have had a typically inconsistent start to the year, but have managed to bank two close wins at home.
Ricky Stuart would have been furious with his sides first half against the Titans last week, with a number of errors and silly penalties costing them dearly, before they regrouped for a famous comeback win.
When the Raiders have managed to hold onto the ball for significant periods, they’ve looked like a top quality side, so if they can find that consistency, the top 8 is well within reach.
Manly Sea Eagles 15th | 31 points for | 66 points against | 1 win & 2 losses | WLL
Manly had a tough start to the season with heavy defeats to Penrith and the Roosters, but they toughed out a one-point win over the Bulldogs last week.
Tom Trbojevic willed his side over the line with an exceptionally strong performance, running for 237 metres and scoring a try.
They had a slow start last year before rattling off a series of wins to finish top 4, so last week’s gritty win could very well kick-start their 2022 campaign.
Last 5 meetings
- 2021 round 23: Raiders 18 – 19 Sea Eagles at Suncorp Stadium
- 2021 round 17: Sea Eagles 16 – 30 Raiders at 4 Pines Park
- 2020 round 6: Raiders 6 – 14 Sea Eagles at Campbelltown Stadium
- 2019 round 23: Raiders 16 – 18 Sea Eagles at GIO Stadium
- 2019 round 7: Sea Eagles 24 – 20 Raiders at Lottoland
Manly have a strong recent record over the Raiders, winning 4 of the last 5 matches, although their biggest margin of victory is just 8 points.
The two games were split 1-1 last year, although Manly superstar Tom Trbojevic didn’t play in either clash.
Key matchups
Jack Wighton vs Tom Trbojevic
They may wear different numbers on their backs, but there’s no doubt these two guys hold the hopes of their side on their shoulders.
The Raiders seem to have an over reliance on Wighton at the moment, with the club struggling to register wins without him starring.
That was never more evident than last week when the Raiders struggled in the first half, before a series of big plays from Wighton brought them back into the contest.
Trbojevic had a historically good season last year and while he’s yet to reach those heights so far in 2022, he’s still clearly Manly’s most important player.
He didn’t have much space to work with last week and the slippery conditions made it difficult for either side to play much expansive footy, but Trbojevic put himself in everything for his side and was instrumental in getting the win.
These two are the types of players that fans simply love to watch, so hopefully they both put on a show.
Matt Timoko vs Morgan Harper
Timoko was simply outstanding for the Raiders last week, scoring two tries and clocking up 145 run metres to lead the Canberra comeback.
The Raiders have sent plenty of attack down the left side of the field with Timoko teaming up well with Jack Wighton and Hudson Young.
He’s proving himself a difficult assignment for opposition centres and Harper will certainly have his hands full trying to stop Timoko.
Harper has had his defensive issues, particularly in the finals last year, so expect Canberra to throw plenty of traffic his way.
Pre match predictions
Harpooned: Matt Timoko to score two tries on Morgan Harper. Raiders by 2 points
Late Mail Model from Mudgee: Pin up boy Nick Cotric to be a late out once again with James Schiller to fill in. Raiders by one point – Denholm Samaras
Other match details
The match will be broadcast live on Fox League channel 502 at 5.30pm. 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).
