Match day guide and preview for the 2022 NRL round 20 game between the Canberra Raiders and Gold Coast Titans.
Match details
Who: Gold Coast Titans vs Canberra Raiders
When: Saturday 30 July 3pm
Where: Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast
Weather: min 11 max 19, chance of rain 20%
Head-to-head record: Played 28. Raiders 15 wins. Titans 13 wins.
Raiders and Titans team lists
| RAIDERS | TITANS | |
| Xavier Savage | 1 | Alex Brimson |
| Nick Cotric | 2 | Jojo Fifita |
| Matthew Timoko | 3 | Phillip Sami |
| Sebastian Kris | 4 | Brian Kelly |
| Albert Hopoate | 5 | Patrick Herbert |
| Jack Wighton | 6 | Tanah Boyd |
| Jamal Fogarty | 7 | Toby Sexton |
| Josh Papalii | 8 | Moeaki Fotuaika |
| Zac Woolford | 9 | Aaron Booth |
| Joe Tapine | 10 | Tino Fa’asuamaleaui |
| Hudson Young | 11 | David Fifita |
| Elliott Whitehead | 12 | Beau Fermor |
| Adam Elliott | 13 | Erin Clark |
| BENCH | BENCH | |
| Tom Starling | 14 | Jayden Campbell |
| Ryan Sutton | 15 | Herman Ese’ese |
| Emre Guler | 16 | Isaac Liu |
| Corey Harawira-Naera | 17 | Jaimin Jolliffe |
| RESERVES | RESERVES | |
| Matt Frawley | 18 | Sam McIntyre |
| Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | 19 | Corey Thompson |
| Ata Mariota | 20 | Greg Marzhew |
| Semi Valemei | 21 | Alofiana Khan-Pereira |
| Peter Hola | 22 | Paul Turner |
The Raiders are unchanged from last week’s victory over the Warriors.
Brian Kelly returns in the centres for Gold Coast, while Erin Clark will start at lock with Tino Fa’asuamaleaui moving to the front row.
Season so far and run home
Raiders 10th | 326 points for | 351 points against | 9 wins & 9 losses | WWLWL
The Raiders have won seven of their last ten matches to put themselves in a position to challenge for a finals spot.
Their season was hanging by a thread trailing 14-0 at half time against the Warriors last week, but they produced a near perfect second half to storm home for a 26-14 win.
The halves partnership of Jamal Fogarty and Jack Wighton was the best we’ve seen it in the second 40, while Corey Harawira-Naera gave the side a huge boost with two tries off the bench and should be given more minutes this weekend.
Canberra simply need to keep winning if they want to play finals and have a reasonable run home, playing the Titans (15th – away), Panthers (1st – home), Dragons (11th – home), Knights (14th – away), Sea Eagles (9th – away) and Tigers (16th – away).
Gold Coast Titans 15th | 284 points for | 470 points against | 3 wins & 15 losses | LLLLL
After playing finals last year with a 10-14 record, the Titans have regressed in 2022 and are now in a battle to avoid another wooden spoon.
They have lost their last eight matches with their last win a golden point triumph over the Dragons back in round 10.
Their spine is lacking experience and has struggled for consistency all season, while their skipper Fa’asuamaleaui has been the lone standout in the forward pack.
While, Gold Coast aren’t playing for finals over the last six rounds, they would be desperate to avoid coming last and to gain some momentum heading into next year.
Key players
Raiders – Jamal Fogarty
Playing in his first ‘Jamal Fogarty Cup’, the Canberra halfback may have a little extra motivation to be at his best.
After missing the opening 11 weeks of the season, Fogarty has started to build nicely and was influential in the Raiders’ second half comeback against the Warriors last week.
The 28-year-old had a season best 107 run metres along with two line breaks and two try assists, while also kicking 5 from 6 goals.
Along with the rest of the Canberra spine, Fogarty is building into the season nicely and will be crucial to leading the club to another win.
Titans – Tino Fa’asuamaleaui
While some have questioned the effort of a few Gold Coast players this season, there can be no questioning their skipper as he gives his all every week despite the losses piling up.
The 22-year-old Queensland Origin star is averaging a career-high 151 run metres per game, while also tackling at 93.1% efficiency
Tino has worn the 13 jersey for much of the year, but will shift into the front row for an epic battle against the in-form Joe Tapine.
He is a key for this Titans side and the Raiders will go a long way to winning this match if they can nullify his influence.
Last 5 meetings and Cbus Super Stadium history
- 2022 round 3: Raiders 24 – 22 Titans at GIO Stadium
- 2021 round 16: Raiders 6 – 44 Titans at GIO Stadium
- 2021 round 4: Titans 4 – 20 Raiders at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
- 2020 round 15: Titans 16 – 36 Raiders at Cbus Super Stadium
- 2020 round 1: Raiders 24 – 6 Titans at GIO Stadium
The Raiders have a terrific recent record over the Titans having won six of the last seven encounters.
They have already met once this year with the Raiders claiming a stunning comeback win after trailing 22-0 late in the first half.
These two sides have met 14 times on the Gold Coast, with the Titans holding a 8-6 winning record. However, Canberra have won four of their last five clashes at Cbus Super Stadium dating back to 2016.
Pre match predictions
Forget the Titans: Jamal Fogarty to lead his new club to a win with two try assists and a line break. Raiders by 10
Jack on track: Jack Wighton to bring his running game on the Goldy with a try and try assist. Raiders by 8. – Denholm Samaras
Have any predictions of your own? Let us know in the comments below.
Other match details
The match will be broadcast live on Fox League channel 502 at 3pm. It is also available to stream on Kayo. Overseas fans can watch via Watch NRL.
You can listen to the match on Raiders on Mix (Mix106.3 FM), Radio 2CC (1206 AM) and ABC Grandstand (666).
