Match day guide and preview for the Canberra Raiders NRL round five game against the Penrith Panthers.
Match details
- Who: Canberra Raiders vs Penrith Panthers
- When: Friday 31 March 6pm AEDT
- Where: GIO Stadium, Canberra
- Weather: max 21. Chance of rain 5%
- Click here to buy tickets
- Head-to-head record: Played 80. Raiders 37 wins. Panthers 42 wins. 1 draw.
Raiders and Panthers team lists
The Raiders lose star five-eighth Jack Wighton to suspension, but regain winger Jordan Rapana from his three-week ban. Jamal Fogarty returns to partner Matt Frawley in the halves.
Penrith have rested Luke Garner with Scott Sorensen named to start in the back row. Soni Luke will miss after copping a head knock last week with Tyrone Peachey replacing him on the bench.
Season so far
Raiders 16th | 70 points for | 83 points against | 1 win & 3 losses
The Raiders head into round five sitting second last on the ladder thanks to yet another poor start to the season.
After a gutsy win over the Sharks at home in round 3, Canberra dished up a poor performance in a 24-14 loss to the Knights that ’embarrassed’ the club according to Ricky Stuart.
Leading 14-8 at half time, the opening to the second half was about as bad as it gets for the Raiders, with poor discipline costing them dearly as they conceded three tries in just six minutes that essentially decided the game.
It was a huge opportunity for Canberra to get back to an even win-loss record, but unfortunately they now sit 1-3 with tough matches against Penrith and Brisbane in the next fortnight.
Penrith Panthers 7th | 44 points for | 40 points against | 1 win & 2 losses
The back-to-back reigning premiers have had a somewhat disappointing start to the season by their lofty standards, suffering one-point losses to Brisbane and Parramatta with their one win coming against the Rabbitohs.
Their attack hasn’t looked anywhere near as potent as recent seasons, with the club still adjusting from losing the dangerous duo of Api Koroisau and Viliame Kikau.
Despite the points not flowing for Penrith, their recent success has been built on the back of defence and they are still number one in the NRL for points conceded at just 15.33 per game.
This Panthers side is still a formidable outfit and they’ll be looking to start banking wins soon and get back into the top four.
Best match-up
Joe Tapine vs James Fisher-Harris
It promises to be a fierce battle in the middle of the field with arguably the two best props in the game going toe-to-toe.
After a breakout 2022 campaign that saw him win the Meninga Medal and named in the Dally M Team of the Year, Tapine is having another strong campaign in 2023, averaging 179 run metres per game in 2023, up from 165m in 2022. However, the 28-year-old has had just two offloads so far this season, so that’s an area he can add back into his game to try and help Canberra’s stuttering attack.
Fisher-Harris has become a formidable front rower and has been a big part of Penrith’s success over the last three years. He’s had a bit of a slow start to 2023, averaging just 100 run metres, well down from the 148m he averaged last year. Fisher-Harris is the heart and soul of this Panthers forward pack and will be keen to assert some sort of physical dominance over guys like Tapine and Papali’i to fire his side up.
Seeing these two superstar Kiwi props go at will be worth the watch itself.
Last 5 meetings and GIO Stadium history
- 2022 round 21: Raiders 6 – Panthers 26 at GIO Stadium
- 2022 round 7: Panthers 36 – 6 Raiders at Penrith Stadium
- 2021 round 5: Panthers 30 – 10 Raiders at Penrith Stadium
- 2020 round 13: Panthers 28 – 12 Raiders at Penrith Stadium
- 2019 round 19: Panthers 18 – 30 Raiders at Penrith Stadium
As they have with many sides over the last three years, Penrith have an excellent recent record over Canberra, winning the last four straight clashes by an average of 21.5 points per game.
The Panthers easily won both matches last year, holding Canberra to just two tries across both matches, while scoring ten themselves.
They haven’t met at GIO Stadium too many times in recent years, with just one matchup since 2018. Penrith have won the last three clashes at GIO, however, in the last ten encounters in Canberra dating back to 2010, the ledger is square at 5 wins apiece.
Pre match predictions
Kiwi Connection: New Zealand pair Tapine and Rapana to combine for over 300 run metres and a try in a huge upset win. Raiders by 2.
Timoko go loko: Matt Timoko to use his power game to score a try and run over 100m in a noble losing effort. Panthers by 12. – Denholm Samaras
Have any predictions of your own? Let us know in the comments below.
Other match details
Gates open at 4.20pm.
Disability Trust Score Raiders v u14’s Yass Magpies – 4:25pm
NSW Cup – Raiders vs Knights at 1.35pm
The match will be broadcast live on Fox League 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), R
