The Canberra Raiders travel up to Campbelltown Stadium once again this weekend to take on the Wests Tigers in Round 5 of the NRL competition.
Both sides will be looking to bounce back after the Raiders suffered a disappointing loss to the Newcastle Knights while the Tigers endured a last minute defeat to the Gold Coast Titans.
Here are six things we’re looking forward to in Round 5:
Bouncing Back
The green machine will be fired up to bounce back and put last weekend’s disappointing performance behind them. The Raiders suffered a 34-18 loss to the Newcastle Knights which coach Ricky Stuart described as “the worst defensive performance in two years”. The Tigers, however, will also be eager to bounce back after a late try to Phillip Sami sealed a 28-23 defeat at the hands of the Gold Coast Titans.
Continuing recent dominance
The Raiders have enjoyed a lot of success over the Tigers in recent years with the green machine enjoying eight wins from their last ten matches. In 2019, the Raiders enjoyed a memorable 28-0 victory over the Tigers at Bankwest Stadium in what was their third of the season.
Coming up against Leilua
This weekend’s match will mark the first time that Joey Leilua will come up against his former side for the first time. Leilua found himself on the try-scorers list for the Tigers last weekend and will look to continue that this weekend against his former club. The Samoan international will most likely come up against Jarrod Croker in the contest and the prospect of the former fan favourite coming up against the Raiders will certainly be a big talking point leading up to the match.
Campbelltown bragging rights
Both sides are officially calling Campbelltown Stadium ‘home’ up until Round 9 of the revised NRL draw. The Raiders will take confidence from their last encounter with the Tigers at Campbelltown Stadium which was a 48-12 win in Round 15 of the 2018 season.
Farewell Benji Marshall
With this fixture the only scheduled clash between the two sides in 2020, could this be the last time we have to face the legendary Tigers five-eighth Benji Marshall? In total, Marshall has faced the Raiders 21 times for the Tigers, Broncos, and Dragons with the New Zealand international winning 18 of those battles. Marshall has had a remarkable career and will go down as one of the all-time greats. However, with his future uncertain after the 2020 season, could this be the last time the green machine face Marshall?
Backrow battle
Saturday’s battle will showcase a number of fascinating individual battles across the park however both sides possess strong backrows. The Tigers have revitalised their backrow stocks in recent years after the acquisition of Luke Garner and Luciano Leilua. Alex Twal continues to impress immensely for the joint venture side and will most likely be named to start at lock. The Raiders possess a strong backrow themselves in England international Elliott Whitehead, New Zealand international Joe Tapine as well as fan favourite Corey Horsburgh who made a total of 58 tackles in last week’s match against the Knights.
