Match Preview – Raiders vs Eels (Round 6)
Date: Saturday 14th of April
Venue: GIO Stadium
Kick off: 7:35pm
Head Referee:
Assistant Referee:
Head to head: Played 55, Raiders 29, Eels 26
Head to head odds: Raiders ($ 1.55), Eels ($ 2.35)
Broadcast: Live Fox Sports – Coverage from 7:30pm
Last four encounters:
- Raiders 22, Eels 16 at ANZ Stadium (2017)
- Raiders 30, Eels 18 at GIO Stadium (2017)
- Raiders 28, Eels 18 at GIO Stadium (2016)
- Eels 36, Raiders 6 at Pirtek Stadium (2016)
The Warm Up:
This round six encounter Is a battle between the 13th placed Canberra Raiders and the last placed, winless Parramatta Eels.
The Eels enter this encounter off the back of tight six point loss to the Penrith Panthers. Parramatta looked like claiming their first win of the season last weekend although ill discipline and a lack of execution in attack ultimately gifted the Panthers with the chances they needed to claim victory.
As for the Canberra Raiders, they claimed their first win of the season against the Canterbury Bulldogs and never really looked in doubt during that clash.
A win here is vital for the Eels but it could also serve to put the Canberra Raiders season well on track.
Having a Punt?:
My value bet for this one is for Parramatta Eels winger Bevan French to claim the first try. French has a remarkable strike rate of scoring first when playing on the wing for the Eels and is at $10 to score the first try via Sportsbet.
The first try favourites are as follows:
Raiders: Jordan Rapana – $8.50
Raiders: Nick Cotric – $11
Eels: Bevan French – $10
Eels: Michael Jennings – $13
Feed Your Footy Brain:
The Parramatta Eels have a very poor record against the Canberra Raiders winning 1 of their past 6 encounters, with that win coming in 2016 at Pirtek Stadium.
Tracking: Clint Gutherson.
This game shapes as a big one for returning Parramatta Eels fullback Clint Gutherson.
The Eels fullback has been on the sidelines for around nine months now with an ACL injury, one of the most devastating injuries a player can suffer. Gutherson suffered the injury in round twenty of last season against the Wests Tigers, and up to that point he was arguably the Eels form player and anything he touched turned to gold. He even earned the nickname ‘the King’ amongst his peers.
The reality is that Gutho has not played NRL for around nine months and it’s fair to say he is likely to be a little rusty. That said, his return could serve as a moral boost for the Eels and even perhaps spark them into action. He is seen as a leader amongst the Eels playing group and is a prominent voice on the field. Many Eels players look to Gutherson for direction and it has been said many times by Eels players, Corey Norman most notably: ‘when the game is on the line, Gutherson is someone you want to have the ball, he wants the ball’.
Eels have been missing a certain ‘X factor’ in attack, and their fans will be hoping the return of Gutherson along with Bevan French can create that X factor the Eels so desperately need.
Danger man:
This week’s danger man is Joseph Tapine. The back rower is a big lad, weighing in at 110Kg’s and standing around 188cm tall. Joseph Tapine as the ability to run excellent lines, can offload the footy the ability and is a very stern defender.
In the Raiders first win of the season, Tapine was one of the Raiders best and helped lay the platform against the Dog’s pack. He’s sure to feature on the Eel’s tip sheet.
Team lists:
Canberra Raiders (13th coming into the round)
- Jack Wighton
- Nick Cotric
- Jarrod Crocker (C)
- Joseph Leilua
- Jordan Rapana
- Blake Austin
- Aidan Sezer
- Iosia Soliola
- Siliva Havili
- Junior Paulo
- Joseph Tapine
- Elliot Whitehead
- Luke Bateman
- Ata Hingano
- Shannon Boyd
- Josh Papalii
- Dunamis Lui
- Liam Knight
- Michael Oldfield
- Brad Abbey
- Jack Murchie
Coach: Ricky Stuart
Late mail: Controversially, Jack Wighton has been allowed to play in this one by Raiders management despite facing a number of assault charges in the courts this week
Parramatta Eels (16th coming into the round)
- Clinton Gutherson
- George Jennings
- Michael Jennings
- Kirisome Auva’a
- Bevan French
- Corey Norman
- Mitchell Moses
- Peni Terepo
- Kaysa Pritchard
- Tim Mannah (C)
- Manu Ma’u
- Tony Williams
- Tepai Moeroa
- Beau Scott (C)
- Kenny Edwards
- Daniel Alvaro
- Kane Evans
- Will Smith
- David Gower
Coach: Brad Arthur
Late mail: No late changes expected for the Eels expect them to line up 1 through 17 come kick off.
Junior Paulo vs Peni Terepo:
Despite the Raiders only claiming the one win for the season Junior Paulo has been fairly impressive for the Raiders. The Raiders prop is one monster of a man weighing in well over 120Kgs and often taking more than three or four defenders to bring him down. His ability to throw the odd offload, coupled with the attacking capabilities of the Raiders back line proves a danger for any team.
A big talking point for the Eels so far this season has been the ability of their forward pack to match it with some of the bigger and stronger forward packs in NRL so far this season. Any pack containing the likes of Paulo and Boyd can never be considered anything but big.
Peni Terepo is one of the Parramatta Eels bigger men and he really needs to step up this week. The Eels squandered chances to beat the Panthers last weekend Terepo loss of ball on a few occasions did not help the cause. The strong running prop has always had troubles with his ball handling throughout his career, whilst it appears to be something Terepo has worked on over the years, Eels fans have noticed that this has returned.
This weekend’s showdown with the Raiders shapes as a big test for Terepo as he and the Eels pack will have to match it with the Raiders if they stand any chance of claiming their first win of the season.
And The Winner Is:
Tipping this week has been difficult.
Both my mind and heart say the Eels are going to win yet I find I’m second guessing myself. Whilst I believe the Eels can and will upset the Raiders this weekend, the Eels poor record in the states capital has me thinking otherwise.
The return of Clint Gutherson, Bevan French and Kane Evans may aid the Eels in their search for victory but Nathan Brown’s serves as a big loss.
The Raiders defeated the Bulldogs last weekend however squandered plenty of scoring opportunities and their defense seemed fairly weak at times. The Bulldogs had plenty of chances to score against the Raiders but poor attack let them down.
The Eels were equally inept in attack against the Panthers though I believr the Raiders aren’t as strong defensively as the Panthers.
I believe the Eels may be able to score a few more points especially with the return of both Gutherson and French. If the Eels defend like they did last weekend against the Panthers I see them winning this one, although discipline is still key.
Put me down for an Eels victory 20 points to 12.
Man of the match: Tepai Moeroa or Clint Gutherson.
Enjoy the game, GO THE EELS !!!
Nathan
I agree with the 8 point win for the eels, it wont be an easy game though.
It will be a test for returning players Gutho as he will likely be very much targeted by both high ball and forwards running at him, so our forwards have to step up, and if they do will go a long way towards the win.
Both our wingers will need to watch the milk men’s wingers as well as both have speed to burn with Cotric doing well this year.
I hope to also see Mannah play some more time likewise Scott, if we cannot get two sets of at least 20 minutes out of them then, it will be hard to match the milko’s forwards.
I liked what I saw of our team last week. We were narrowly beaten by one of the top teams in the comp. We’ll miss Browny, particularly against their big boffers but if Terepo puts his hands back on (instead of the feet he brought last week,) he’ll bring some much needed punch in the forwards. Gutho’s contribution is welcomed but we shouldn’t expect too much.
Eels by 12.
If the story’s coming out from Canberra are true regarding JP coming back home. Then I have a gut feeling Ricky won’t play him.
To me it seems a lot of NRL coach’s doing it aka bronco benny. Remember Justin hodges roosters deal.
If sticky is to go down that same line I’m thinking Ricky will start Boyde n have JP coming from bench or even missing the cut.
I think the eels will miss brown but in saying that having tepai Moaroe at lock makes our pack that much bigger weight n height wise.
I think if we finally click then I’m tipping us to win by 16.
Peni is a good runner of the ball his got good strength for a little prop. His runs are like FFMM but it’s his hands that let him down.
MOM.
M Jennings or croker if Canberra win.
# Eels4life#
I like the look of this team apart from Brown’s omission. Clearly last week was their best effort so far.
I think that they can win and George Jennings for the first try. He is a player growing in confidence
HI fellas
I have severe doubts about today but am not home so its hard to gauge.
Canberra away is always hard; and i see us not having enough points in us for a win; No Brown is not good and i have questions about Normans consistency.
Yes we can win, but i cannot see it. If wrong i will eat some NZ humble pie……do we know who the referee is?