Raiders v Eels: Scott in, CNK out; Matterson out again
The Raiders will be smarting after pushing unbeaten competition leaders Penrith hard on Friday night but ultimately falling well short on the scoreboard.
Canberra have slipped to the edge of the top eight and will be eager to return home after winning just one of their past three games with their attack offering diminishing returns of 31, 20 and 10 points.
The struggle to score points has been matched by a defence that is also stuck in the middle of the table.
Parramatta will also be looking for redemption after a poor outing against the Dragons saw them lose their unbeaten status and slip to fifth on the ladder.
Raiders v Eels
Match: Raiders v Eels
Round 6 -
home Team
Raiders
9th Position
away Team
Eels
3rd Position
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
The rundown
Team news
Raiders: Ryan Sutton comes into the starting side and Iosia Soliola goes to the bench in a late switch an hour before game time.
Hooker Josh Hodgson suffered a hip injury against the Panthers but has been cleared to play.
Centre Curtis Scott (ribs) will make his comeback from injury, sending Sebastian Kris to the reserves.
Caleb Aekins has come into the side at fullback in place of Charnze Nicholl-Klokstad (neck), who failed a HIA following a head knock he suffered in the first half against Penrith.
Veteran forward Ryan James (rested) is out of the 21-man squad with Joseph Tapine named at lock and Emre Guler the new face on the interchange.
Matt Frawley and Dunamis Lui were omitted from the reserves 24 hours before kick-off. Corey Harawira-Naera was the last man cut an hour before kick-off and Kris is 18th man.
Canberra have kept the Eels tryless in their past two games at GIO Stadium.
Eels: Ryan Matterson has been ruled out once again due to concussion symptoms, with Isaiah Papali'i starting in the second row and Wiremu Greig coming onto the bench in jersey 20 for his NRL debut.
Dylan Brown has been suspended for one game for a crusher tackle with his place at five-eighth taken by Will Smith.
Keegan Hipgrave has been recalled on the bench after being left out last week. Joey Lussick dropped off the extended bench on Friday night and Jordan Rankin was the last player cut an hour before kick-off. Haze Dunster is 18th man.
The Eels have not won in Canberra since 2006.
Match: Raiders v Eels
Round 6 -
home Team
Raiders
away Team
Eels
Team Lists
Backs
-
Fullback for Raiders is number 1 Caleb AekinsFullback for Eels is number 1 Clinton Gutherson
-
Winger for Raiders is number 2 Bailey SimonssonWinger for Eels is number 2 Maika Sivo
-
Centre for Raiders is number 3 Jarrod CrokerCentre for Eels is number 3 Tom Opacic
-
Centre for Raiders is number 4 Curtis ScottCentre for Eels is number 4 Marata Niukore
-
Winger for Raiders is number 5 Jordan RapanaWinger for Eels is number 5 Blake Ferguson
-
Five-Eighth for Raiders is number 6 Jack WightonFive-Eighth for Eels is number 6 Will Smith
-
Halfback for Raiders is number 7 George WilliamsHalfback for Eels is number 7 Mitchell Moses
Forwards
-
Prop for Raiders is number 8 Josh Papali'iProp for Eels is number 8 Reagan Campbell-Gillard
-
Hooker for Raiders is number 9 Josh HodgsonHooker for Eels is number 9 Reed Mahoney
-
Prop for Raiders is number 15 Ryan SuttonProp for Eels is number 10 Junior Paulo
-
2nd Row for Raiders is number 11 Hudson Young2nd Row for Eels is number 11 Shaun Lane
-
2nd Row for Raiders is number 12 Elliott Whitehead2nd Row for Eels is number 15 Isaiah Papali'i
-
Lock for Raiders is number 13 Joseph TapineLock for Eels is number 13 Nathan Brown
Interchange
-
Interchange for Raiders is number 10 Iosia SoliolaInterchange for Eels is number 14 Oregon Kaufusi
-
Interchange for Raiders is number 14 Tom StarlingInterchange for Eels is number 16 Keegan Hipgrave
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Interchange for Raiders is number 16 Siliva HaviliInterchange for Eels is number 17 Bryce Cartwright
-
Interchange for Raiders is number 17 Emre GulerInterchange for Eels is number 20 Wiremu Greig
Reserves
-
Reserve for Raiders is number 18 Sebastian KrisReserve for Eels is number 19 Haze Dunster
Match Officials
- Referee: Ben Cummins
- Touch Judge: Kasey Badger
- Touch Judge: Peter Gough
- Senior Review Official: Steve Chiddy
Last updated:
Key match-up
Josh Papali'i v Junior Paulo: The two big men will be carrying a lot on their shoulders when they get ready to rumble at GIO Stadium. Papali'i stood tall and really delivered in the loss to Penrith but Paulo, after a huge start to the season, was one of many Eels who failed to aim up in the Dragons upset. He is currently equal fourth in the NRL for offloads and will be looking to reassert himself in that area to get the Parramatta attack rolling.
Stat attack
The Raiders are on a 10-game winning streak at home against Parramatta. The last time the Eels got the better of them in Canberra was round 17, 2006. Halfback Todd Carney scored a try and kicked two from two but it wasn't enough for the Matthew Elliott-coached Green Machine who fell 18-12.
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