With a finals spot all but assured, the Green Machine will be keen to continue their miraculous late-season revival against a Wests Tigers side who are now guaranteed the wooden spoon. 

Ricky Stuart's men have emerged as one of the Telstra Premiership's form teams over the past month and last week returned to the top eight for the first time since round 3.

 

Sunday's match will mark the first time these two clubs have faced each other since round 1 in 2021. 

Sportsbet Betting preview: Wests Tigers v Raiders

The Rundown

Team news

Wests Tigers: No late changes on Sunday, with Ken Maumalo overcoming a groin injury to take his spot on the wing and Luke Garner back from a head knock in the centres. Captain James Tamou returns from a one-game suspension. 

Raiders: Playmaker Jack Wighton and back-rower Elliott Whitehead have been rested by coach Ricky Stuart, with Matt Frawley coming in to start at five-eighth and Corey Harawira-Naera promoted from the bench to start in the second row. Albert Hopoate is the new face on the bench. Winger Nick Cotric returns from a groin injury on the wing. 

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Key match-up

Daine Laurie v Xavier Savage: Two exciting players at the back of the field who have been performing well through the back end of the year. Savage ran for a team-high 226 metres last week, while Laurie has been one of the Wests Tigers' better players through a torrid stretch of late, with 20 tackle breaks in his last four games. 

Stat Attack

The Wests Tigers are one of the competition's worst defensive units across 24 rounds, and sit third for the most missed tackles in the NRL, averaging 33.3 per game. That is in contrast to the Green Machine, who miss the third-fewest tackles in the competition at an average of 29 per game. 

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