Match day guide and preview for the Canberra Raiders NRL round 25 game against the Sydney Roosters.

Match details

Canberra Raiders vs Sydney Roosters

Thursday 2 September, 7.50pm

BP Print Mackay Stadium, Mackay QLD

Tickets are sold out.

Head-to-head record: Played 69. Raiders 30 wins. Roosters 38 wins. 1 draw.

Recent form and finals scenario

Canberra Raiders 9^th | 465 points for | 538 points against | 10 wins & 13 losses | WLLWL

Canberra’s season looked finished when they were trailing the Warriors 0-16 after 35 minutes, but a complete turnaround saw them record 28 unanswered points to keep their finals hopes alive.

The Raiders have blown their fair share of double-digit leads this season, so it was pleasing to see them flip the script for a change.

The worry for Canberra is still their inability to put a complete 80-minute performance together which they’ll need to produce that against a Roosters side with some stars returning.

Finals scenario: To finish eighth, Canberra need to beat the Roosters and for Melbourne to beat Cronulla.

Sydney Roosters 6^th | 590 points for | 473 points against | 15 wins & 8 losses | LWWLW

The Roosters have done well this season considering their large injury list, but they haven’t been a match for the top three sides this season.

Their 54-12 loss to the Rabbitohs last week took their record against the top three teams (Melbourne, Penrith and Souths) to 0-6 for the season.

They do get a host of stars back this week and there is a genuine rivalry against Canberra, so they would love nothing more than to end the Raiders season early.

Finals scenario: The Roosters can still finish fourth if they win and Parramatta and Manly lose. A loss will see them finish in sixth.

Raiders and Roosters team lists

Canberra Raiders

IN: Sia Soliola

OUT: Bailey Simonsson

There is only one inclusion to the side with Sia Soliola returning after missing the previous two weeks after the passing of his mother.

However, there is a reshuffle to the starting side with Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad starting at fullback and Jordan Rapana shifting to the wing.

Sydney Roosters

IN: Adam Keighran, Angus Chrichton, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Josh Morris, Matt Ikuvalu

OUT: Ben Thomas, Fletcher Baker, Joseph Manu

The Roosters lose star centre Joey Manu to a fractured eye socket after a high shot from Latrell Mitchell last week, but they get a couple of stars back.

Angus Chrichton and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves will bring plenty to their forward pack while Josh Morris, Adam Keighran and Matt Ikuvalu are handy inclusions in the outside backs.

The players to watch

Raiders – Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad

Nicoll-Klokstad will start at fullback for the first time since round five after coming off the bench the last two weeks.

He looked a bit rusty in his first outing against Manly a fortnight ago, but he was simply brilliant last week and was one of the key reasons the Raiders got back into the game.

He scored the first try for Canberra just before half time and finished the match with 183 run metres in just 54 minutes.

The Raiders back three looked the best it has all season with Nicoll-Klokstad at fullback and Rapana and Smith-Shields on the wing, so hopefully that combination excels again.

Roosters – Jared Waerea-Hargreaves

Love him or hate him, Waerea-Hargreaves has been an incredibly important player for the Roosters over a long period of time and his inclusion is a massive boost for the Chooks.

He’s long been the one they turn to when they need a lift in the middle of the field and his matchup with Raiders big man Papalii will be mouth-watering.

They have other forwards that can have a big impact on a game, but Waerea-Hargreaves is the man Canberra will be desperate to contain.

Last 5 meetings

• 2021 Round 12: Roosters 44 – 16 Raiders at Central Coast Stadium
• 2020 Semi Final: Roosters 18 – 22 Raiders at SCG
• 2020 Round 17: Raiders 6 – 18 Roosters at GIO Stadium
• 2020 Round 10: Roosters 20 – 24 Raiders at SCG
• 2019 Grand Final: Roosters 14 – 8 Raidersat ANZ Stadium

The Roosters hold a slight 3-2 edge over Canberra after their dominant victory earlier this season.

The sides have met in the finals the previous two seasons with Canberra knocking the Roosters out in the semi-finals last year.

Pre match predictions

Nicoll-Back: Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad to run for 250 metres and score a try in his first game back in the starting side.

Red-faced Rooster: The Raiders to score four tries to two and cook the chooks to secure a spot in the finals.

Other match details

The match will be broadcast live on Channel Nine and Fox League channel 502 at 8pm. It is also available to stream on Kayo.

You can listen to the match on Raiders on Mix – Mix106.3 FM, Radio 2CC – 1206 AM and ABC Grandstand – 666 ABC AM.

Click here for more match day information.