The Canberra Raiders side will take on the Newcastle Knights this Saturday at GIO Stadium Canberra at 11:05am in our first ever NRLW stand-alone home game.
The Raiders are coming off a tough 40-8 loss to the Broncos last weekend and will be looking to turn it around on Saturday.
The Raiders have been hard to beat all season losing only two games so far and are sitting in fourth position on the ladder.
The Raiders will have the inclusion of some vital players ahead of Saturday’s clash with Apii Nicholls named to return at fullback and Ua Ravu named on the bench.
They will be coming up against the reigning premiers in the Knights who have also had a very successful season, sitting on ten points in second place.
The Knights are coming off the back of a 22-14 win over the Sharks last weekend.
The Knights have named an unchanged line up from last week, with Caitlin Moran, Jacinta Carter, Jayde Herdegen, and Tamerah Leati all named on their extended bench.
This Saturday will be a taste of finals footy with two of the top four teams facing off at an important time in the season.
Match: Raiders v Knights
Round 7 -
home Team
Raiders
away Team
Knights
Team Lists
Backs
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Fullback for Raiders is number 1 Apii NichollsFullback for Knights is number 1 Tamika Upton
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Winger for Raiders is number 2 Madison BartlettWinger for Knights is number 2 Sheridan Gallagher
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Centre for Raiders is number 3 Cheyelle Robins-RetiCentre for Knights is number 3 Shanice Parker
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Centre for Raiders is number 4 Mackenzie WikiCentre for Knights is number 4 Abigail Roache
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Winger for Raiders is number 5 Shakiah TungaiWinger for Knights is number 5 Jasmin Strange
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Five-Eighth for Raiders is number 6 Zahara TemaraFive-Eighth for Knights is number 6 Georgia Roche
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Halfback for Raiders is number 7 Ashleigh QuinlanHalfback for Knights is number 7 Jesse Southwell
Forwards
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Prop for Raiders is number 10 Sophie HolymanProp for Knights is number 8 Tayla Predebon
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Hooker for Raiders is number 9 Chanté TemaraHooker for Knights is number 9 Olivia Higgins
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Prop for Raiders is number 13 Simaima TaufaProp for Knights is number 10 Caitlan Johnston-Green
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2nd Row for Raiders is number 11 Elise Smith2nd Row for Knights is number 11 Laishon Albert-Jones
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2nd Row for Raiders is number 20 Monalisa Soliola2nd Row for Knights is number 12 Yasmin Clydsdale
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Lock for Raiders is number 12 Hollie-Mae DoddLock for Knights is number 13 Hannah Southwell
Interchange
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Interchange for Raiders is number 8 Grace KempInterchange for Knights is number 14 Nita Maynard
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Interchange for Raiders is number 16 Kerehitina MatuaInterchange for Knights is number 15 Kayla Romaniuk
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Interchange for Raiders is number 18 Petesa LioInterchange for Knights is number 16 Tiana Davison
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Interchange for Raiders is number 21 Jessica GentleInterchange for Knights is number 17 Viena Tinao
Reserves
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Replacement for Raiders is number 19 Ella RyanReplacement for Knights is number 18 Jacinta Carter
Match Officials
- Referee: Wyatt Raymond
- Senior Review Official: Dave Munro
Last updated:
Key Match-ups
Cheyelle Robins-Reti vs Shanice Parker
The battle of the two high-scoring centres will be one that will get you out of your seat as these to go head-to-head.
Both players are their own teams’ top try scorers with Robins-Reti sitting on four tries for the season adding one to the tally just last weekend.
Meanwhile Parker is sitting on five tries for her team scoring two in last weekend’s win.
Robins- Reti has had a great season so far with her impeccable attack ripping up other teams goal line defence in crucial points of games.
She has also racked up an incredible 31 tackle breaks along with 120 average running metres in the six games so far.
Parker has also had a similar season so far with 22 tackle breaks and 658 total running metres.
This matchup will be sure to keep the scoreboard ticking over come Saturday morning.
Simaima Taufa v Hannah Southwell
This will be a matchup like no other as these two play against each other when they are used to playing alongside each other.
Not only have these two played together at the Roosters in 2019 and 2020, they have also played alongside each other in the NSW Blues side as well as being in the Jillaroos Australian team together.
This will be a big clash for both players with the two being the hard-hitting rocks in their teams.
Taufa has a whopping 95.5% tackle efficiency for the 2023 season with some of those tackles sure to be amongst the tackles of the year.
Along with her defence, she has unreal attack with no team being able to keep her down with 373.3 post-contact metres.
Southwell also has some great stats next to her name considering she has only played three games this season with a 92% tackle efficiency and 134 average running metres.
The match-up between these two will be sure to electrify the stadium with tackles that will be heard from the grandstands.
Apii Nicholls v Tamika Upton
The battle of the fullbacks will be in fine form on Saturday as the Raiders welcome back Apii Nicholls to their side.
Nicholls has had a great season so far, getting the Raiders over the line in desperate times with her back line defence saving some strong attack.
Despite Nicholls not having scored a try yet she has three try assists along with a high 151 average running meters.
She was missed in the Raiders team last week and the side will be happy to have her back ahead of this tough game.
Upton, like Nicholls, has had an amazing season as well with 31 tackle breaks and two tries next to her name for 2023.
These two will be sure to put all the talent on show come Saturday in what will be a great build-up ahead of finals just three games away.
