Round 12: Canberra Raiders vs Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles

[DIEHARD]

Canberra Raiders vs Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles

Friday 7.45pm May 30, Canberra Stadium

RAIDERS

1. Bronx Goodwin
2. Colin Best
3. Adrian Purtell
4. Joel Monaghan
5. David Milne
6. Terry Campese
7. Todd Carney
8. Scott Logan
9. Alan Tongue
10. Dane Tilse
11. Glen Turner
12. Nigel Plum
13. Joe Picker

Interchange:
14. Josh Miller
15. Glen Buttriss
16. Trevor Thurling
17. Troy Thompson
18. Ben Jones

SEA EAGLES

1. Brett Stewart
2. Michael Robertson
3. Jamie Lyon
4. Steve Matai
5. David Williams
6. Steve Menzies
7. Matt Orford
8. Brent Kite
9. Matt Ballin
10. Josh Perry
11. Anthony Watmough
12. Glenn Stewart
13. Luke Williamson

Interchange:
14. Heath L'Estrange
15. Glenn Hall
16. Adam Cuthbertson
17. Mark Bryant
20. Vic Mauro

[DIEHARD]

Raiders v Sea Eagles Preview

Canberra Stadium Friday 7.45pm

IT?S not often the Canberra faithful get to come out on a Friday night to see their Raiders go around so hopefully the occasion brings forth the big crowd it deserves.

The Green Machine comes into this crucial clash against the fourth-placed Sea Eagles in a respectable 10th position and they know they need to keep the win column ticking over if they are to stay in the dogfight for finals? positions this season.

They come into the match fresh from a bye and a pummelling of the hapless South Sydney so there should be no excuses come kick-off.

They enter the clash with a settled squad having named the same side that dismantled Souths in round 10. Troy Thompson has been named as 18th man at this stage.

For Manly, the game couldn?t come soon enough after last week?s loss to the Dragons at Brookvale. Prior to the loss the Sea Eagles had made steady progress up the ladder but the shock loss has some cynics resurfacing.

Coach Des Hasler has stuck with the same 17 to take on the Raiders but has named Vic Mauro as an extra man on the bench.

It looms as a danger game for the Sea Eagles who need to get back in the winner?s circle if they are to consolidate a top-four spot.

Canberra are well rested and always play better in the nation?s capital when the weather starts to get chilly.

Watch out Raiders: The Sea Eagles are deadly when they get into the attacking red zone. Having scored 33 of their 42 tries from within 20 metres the Manly boys are one of the league?s best sides at turning good field position into tries.

The flipside to this is the Raiders can make life difficult for the Eagles if they can limit their time in the attacking quarter.

An aggressive defensive line is needed in the middle of the field to contain the Manly metre eaters especially considering the Raiders have conceded 11 tries up the middle and Manly have scored 13 up the guts.

Watch out Sea Eagles: Canberra?s kick accuracy of 62 per cent is one of the best in the NRL and will allow them to dictate field position if the Manly side doesn?t pressure the kickers.

As stated above, the Raiders need only dominate field territory to make Manly suffer so it is imperative Todd Carney isn?t given a free rein to place the ball wherever he likes.

The Sea Eagles only find space 48 per cent of the time, further highlighting the importance of kick-pressure and a good kick-chase in this game.

Where it will be won: It might just come down to defence of attacking kicks. Manly have scored 12 but leaked eight tries to kicks this year, while Canberra have scored eight and leaked 11.

Canberra struggle defusing the grubber kick (69 per cent success, 13th in NRL) and the bomb (59 per cent success, 15th in NRL) while Manly have only defused half of the cross-field bombs they?ve faced and are yet to clean up a banana kick.

Matt Orford and Carney should spend some extra sessions sharpening up their skills before heading out for this one.

The History: Played 39; Raiders 16, Sea Eagles 22, drawn 1. Manly have won five of the past six matches between the sides. At Canberra Stadium the teams have split 10 games with five wins a piece, although the last time Canberra beat Manly in Canberra was 2004.

Conclusion: The sensible tip is Manly but the Raiders are a 12-point better team at home and the Sea Eagles come into the clash off a poor loss.

It is by no means beyond the Green Machine to cause an upset here; in fact they are a good chance to do so.

With plenty to play for, Canberra might just turn it on and if the weather is cold as the winter approaches the boys from the sunny northern beaches might find it difficult to adapt.

If you need to jag a few upsets in your tipping competition, think long and hard about using this game to mount a charge.

Match officials: Referee ? Sean Hampstead; Sideline Officials ? Tony De Las Heras & David Abood; Video ref ? Paul Simpkins.

Televised: Channel Nine ? Delayed 9.30pm (NSW & Qld).

* Statistics: NRL Stats.

Source: http://www.nrl.com

[TITAN PETE]

The Eagles should've played with 11 players as they would've won by 40 + with 13 after the Bu##sh#t send off of Jnr Wombat
Manly have withstood a second-half Canberra comeback one man down to win an NRL thriller in the nation's capital on Friday night 31-18.

Sea Eagles forward Adam Cuthbertson was sent from the field in the 31st minute when his outstretched arm cannoned into the neck of Raiders prop Troy Thompson, but the visitors still proved too strong.

Last year's grand finalists went into halftime with a 12-0 lead thanks to the deft boot of skipper Matt Orford.

Canberra came out firing in the second stanza, hoping to expose Manly's bunched defence. But they pushed too hard and repeatedly dropped the ball with fullback Bronx Goodwin bombing a certain try in the 43rd minute.

Manly eventually broke the Raiders' spirit and ran away 13-point victors via tries to Steve Matai and Steve Menzies after the break.

After the match coach Des Hasler questioned the involvement of video referee Paul Simpkins in the decision to send Cuthbertson off.

Referee Sean Hampstead asked Simpkins "are you thinking what I'm thinking" before sending the forward for an early shower.

"I could be wrong but I thought on the rabbits ears the referee was asking the fellow in the box what he was thinking," Hasler said.

"The man in the middle's got to make the decision, he's got the whistle, leave the video referees out of it because I don't think he was going to send him off."

Apart from his frustration, Hasler heaped praise on his Eagles outfit.

"There's always something special about winning a game with 12 men, it's a tremendous effort and one the players and the club are extremely proud of," Hasler said.

"We were always in control of it.

"We knew we had to play out the possession we had and frustrate them with our defence."

Hasler said the Sea Eagles never thought of trying to defend their halftime lead.

"We weren't going to stop playing football."

For the losing side the struggle to reach the top eight becomes harder.

Coach Neil Henry admitted his side struggled to hold on to the ball all night long, but he refused to criticise the Raiders.

"It's not automatic you win a game when you play against 12 men," Henry said.

"At 18-12 we lost a couple of opportunities to pull back some points.

"I'll take my hat off to Desy and the boys, they didn't make an error in yardage in the whole game."
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