Match day guide and preview for the Canberra Raiders 2022 NRL round 7 game against the Penrith Panthers.
Match details
Who: Penrith Panthers vs Canberra Raiders
When: Sunday 24 April 4.05pm
Where: BlueBet Stadium Penrith
Head-to-head record: Played 78. Raiders 37 wins. Panthers 37 wins. 1 draw.
Raiders and Panthers team lists
| Canberra Raiders | Penrith Panthers | |
| Jordan Rapana | 1 | Dylan Edwards |
| Nick Cotric | 2 | Charlie Staines |
| Matt Timoko | 3 | Izack Tago |
| Semi Valemei | 4 | Stephen Crichton |
| Xavier Savage | 5 | Taylan May |
| Jack Wighton | 6 | Jarome Luai |
| Brad Schneider | 7 | Nathan Cleary |
| Josh Papalii | 8 | Jordan McLean |
| Tom Starling | 9 | Api Koroisau |
| Joe Tapine | 10 | James Fisher-Harris |
| Corey Harawira-Naera | 11 | Viliame Kikau |
| Hudson Young | 18|12 | Liam Martin |
| Ryan Sutton | 13 | Isaah Yeo |
| BENCH | BENCH | |
| Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | 14 | Mitch Kenny |
| Harry Rushton | 15 | Scott Sorensen |
| Adam Elliott | 16 | Spencer Leniu |
| Corey Horsburgh | 17 | Jaeman Salmon |
| RESERVES | RESERVES | |
| Matt Frawley | 19|18 | Robert Jennings |
| Trey Mooney | 22 | Soni Luke |
Ricky Stuart threatened to wield the axe after last week’s embarrassing loss to North Queensland but has limited his changes. Emre Guler is the only player dropped from the 17 after running for just 21 metres against the Cowboys, with Englishman Harry Rushton to make his NRL debut. The Raiders have reshuffled their back five with Jordan Rapana named at fullback, Xavier Savage on the wing and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad relegated to the bench. Elliott Whitehead will miss the game after copping a nasty knock to the face at training with Hudson Young his replacement. With Whitehead out, Jack Wighton will captain the Raiders for the first time.
The Panthers are unchanged as they just keep on cruising through the season.
Season so far
Raiders 12th | 88 points for | 140 points against | 2 wins & 4 losses | LLLWL
The Raiders have now lost three straight matches with their latest defeat to the Cowboys another example of their inability to play well for 80 minutes.
Stuart said in the post-game press conference that he was “sick of defending playing 40 minutes if football” and surely every Raiders’ fan is sick of watching it.
Canberra have shown glimpses of being a quality team that could push for finals, but they let themselves down time and time again with poor discipline and costly errors.
It would take something we haven’t seen from the Raiders in a long time to cause an upset over a relentless Panthers side.
Panthers 1st | 184 points for | 78 points against | 6 wins & 0 losses | WWWWW
The reigning premiers have played some exceptional footy to start the season with six straight wins and are number one in the competition for points scored and points against.
While Canberra can only play 40 or minutes a week, the Panthers just keep turning up for 80 minutes week after week and often put sides away in the blink of an eye.
They are the clear front runners to win the premiership again in 2022 and should be far too strong for the Raiders at home.
Last 5 meetings and Panthers Stadium history
- 2021 round 5: Panthers 30 – 10 Raiders at Penrith Stadium
- 2020 round 13: Panthers 28 – 12 Raiders at Panthers Stadium
- 2019 round 19: Panthers 18 – 30 Raiders at Panthers Stadium
- 2019 round 8: Raiders 30 – 12 Panthers at McDonalds Park, Wagga Wagga
- 2018 round 21: Panthers 40 – 31 Raiders at Panthers Stadium
Penrith have won three of the last five against Canberra, with both Raiders’ wins coming in their grand final year of 2019.
The Raiders started well in their clash last year before the Panthers got going and rolled over the top of them.
Since 2010, they have met at Panthers Stadium eleven times with the Panthers leading the count 7-4.
Key matchup
Joe Tapine vs James Fisher-Harris
Tapine has been the Raiders best and most consistent player this season, running for over 100 metres in every game so far.
He was brilliant against the Cowboys last week, running for 153 metres and making 41 tackles in 56 minutes through the middle of the field.
There is always a noticeable difference in the Canberra side when he and Papalii are on the bench, with the replacement middle forwards in Emre Guler and Corey Horsburgh not able to back up their starters effectively.
Fisher-Harris is having yet another fine season for the Panthers and is coming off a monster game against the Broncos.
The bulldozing front rower ran for 200 metres, including 85 post contact metres as he terrorised the middle forwards of Brisbane.
He has plenty of help in the middle though with the likes of Scott Sorensen, Spencer Leniu and of course Isaah Yeo all playing at a high level.
These two guys are crucial to getting their teams on the front foot so it should be a great battle between in the middle.
Pre match predictions
May Day: Taylan May to have a day out with three tries, wreaking havoc on the Canberra defence. Panthers by 14
What’s the Rush?: Harry Rushton to impress on debut with over 30 minutes on field, 100 run metres and tackle efficiency over 90 per cent. Panthers by 16. – Denholm Samaras
Other match details
Gates open at 12pm with the Panthers and Raiders Jersey Flegg sides to play at 12.15pm. The Raiders and Panthers NSW Cup sides will then play at 1.50pm
The NRL match will be broadcast live on Channel Nine and Fox League channel 502 at 4pm and 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 ABC AM).
