Match day guide and preview for the Canberra Raiders Round 18 game against the Cronulla Sharks.
Who, when and where?
Canberra Raiders vs Cronulla Sharks
Saturday 17 July, 5.30pm
Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast QLD
Tickets on sale from Friday 4pm, click here to buy.
*The game was originally scheduled to be played at GIO Stadium in the ACT but was moved due to the COVID-19 situation in NSW. The Raiders will be based on the Gold Coast for at least the next month after the NRL moved 12 clubs into Queensland hubs.
Head-to-head record: Played 80. Raiders 38 wins. Sharks 41 wins. 1 draw.
Ladder position and recent form
Canberra Raiders 11th | 313 points for | 403 points against | 6 wins & 10 losses | WLLWL
The Raiders are somehow just two points outside of the top eight despite enduring a rather difficult season on and off the field.
They were embarrassed 44-6 by the Titans two weeks ago before responding against Manly with a strong 30-16 victory.
It was one of the Raiders best performances of the season as they completed 43/48 sets to control the game.
Canberra has lacked any sort of consistency this season so it’s hard to know what they’ll dish up on Saturday.
Cronulla Sharks 8th | 316 points for | 360 points against | 7 wins & 9 losses | WLWWW
The Sharks have also struggled for consistency this season, highlighted by their last two weeks with a loss to the lowly Broncos followed by a win over the Warriors.
They had won four in a row before the disappointing loss to Brisbane so it seems like they are building into the season nicely.
With the competition so top heavy this season with a dominant top four sides, the Sharks are in the box seat to claim a spot in the eight.
Raiders and Sharks team lists
| Raiders | Sharks | |
| Xavier Savage | 1 | William Kennedy |
| Semi Valemei | 2 | Sione Katoa |
| Jarrod Croker | 3 | Connor Tracey |
| Seb Kris | 4 | Jesse Ramien |
| Jordan Rapana | 5 | Ronaldo Mulitalo |
| Jack Wighton | 6 | Braydon Trindall |
| Sam Williams | 7 | Shaun Johnson |
| Josh Papalii | 8 | Aiden Tolman |
| Emre Guler | 9 | Blayke Brailey |
| Dunamis Lui | 10 | Aaron Woods |
| Corey Harawira-Naera | 11 | Briton Nikora |
| Hudson Young | 12 | Teig Wilton |
| Ryan Sutton | 13 | Toby Rudolf |
| Bench | Bench | |
| Tom Starling | 14 | Mawene Hiroti |
| Joe Tapine | 15 | Siosifa Talakai |
| Sia Soliola | 16 | Jack Williams |
| Ryan James | 17 | Braden Hamlin-Uele |
| Reserves | Reserves | |
| Matthew Timoko | 18 | Billy Magoulias |
| Trey Mooney | 19 | Royce Hunt |
| Matt Frawley | 20 | Andrew Fifita |
| Harley Smith-Shields | 21 | Luke Metcalf |
Canberra Raiders
The Raiders welcome back Origin stars Josh Papalii and Jack Wighton after they were absent for the Manly win.
The unlucky Matt Frawley drops out for Wighton while Papalii replaces the injured Dunamis Lui.
Elliott Whitehead is still another week away while Xavier Savage gets another crack at fullback.
Cronulla Sharks
The Sharks have unchanged line up from the one that knocked over the Warriors last week.
Last 5 meetings
- 2021 Round 2: Sharks 10 – 12 Raiders at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
- 2020 Elimination Final: Raiders 32 – 20 Sharks at GIO Stadium
- 2020 Round 20: Sharks 28– 38 Raiders at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
- 2019 Round 24: Sharks 14 – 15 Raiders at PointsBet Stadium
- 2019 Round 14: Raiders 22 – 20 Sharks at GIO Stadium
The Raiders have a terrific recent record against the Sharks, winning the last five straight.
Despite the 5-0 score line to Canberra, each match has been closely contested, including the slog-fest in round 2 this year.
The players to watch
Raiders – Joe Tapine
After a superb 2020 season, Tapine has been one of many Raiders to struggle in 2021.
He was injured earlier in the season before being dropped back to the bench and has stayed there for the majority of the year.
However, an early injury to Lui last week gave Tapine the chance to get on the field early and he was back to his absolute best. He ran for game high 234 metres and terrorised the Manly middle defence all night.
There’s never been any question marks over his ability and if Canberra are to get back on track, they need Tapine to be at his best every game.
Sharks – Toby Rudolf
Rudolf has become a very good middle forward for the Sharks and has now run over 150 metres in his past four games.
He also seems to have plenty of energy when he plays which his teammates clearly feed off and when he’s up and going, the Sharks are a much better side.
With the Raiders boasting a couple of class middle forwards in Papalii and Tapine, Rudolf needs to match it with them to get the Sharks moving forward.
Pre match predictions
Youngstar: Hudson Young to star with a try and 100 run metres.
Red nose Rudolf: Tobias Rudolf to be the shining light for Cronulla in a noble loss with 200 running metres. – Denholm Samaras
Other match details
The Raiders match is the first of a double header at Cbus Super Stadium with the Storm vs Knights to play straight after.
The match will be broadcast live on Fox League channel 502 at 5.30pm. It is also available to stream on Kayo.
