NRL Round 3 Preview and Prediction - Canberra Raiders v Wests Tigers @ GIO Stadium

Canberra Raiders (0-2) v Wests Tigers (1-1) @ GIO Stadium

Preview - The Raiders will be desperate to claim their first victory of 2017 when they host the Wests Tigers on Sunday at GIO Stadium. Ricky Stuart will no doubt have his men breathing fire after a really sloppy display against the Sharks last week which resulted in a surprise 42-16 thumping defeat at home. The Tigers will be looking to rebound from a thumping of their own after they were embarrassed 36-2 at Campbelltown by Penrith last Sunday. The Tigers, over the past few years, have often really struggled with consistent performances. Whilst their best might be very good, their worst appears in the bottom few teams in the competition. 

History - The Raiders thumped the Tigers twice last year scoring 60 against them at GIO Stadium and 50 on them at Leichhardt in Round 26. However, overall the Tigers have a great record on Canberra with 7 wins from their last 10, including 5 victories from 7 on Sunday games. Overall the Tigers have won 18 games to the Raiders 14. 

Canberra Raiders Scouting Report - The Raiders have been given a timely, huge boost this week with Club Captain Jarrod Croker returning early from a pre-season injury. Croker’s leadership and talent has clearly been sorely missed in the opening two rounds this season. Clay Priest also returns from suspension on the interchange bench, whilst Dave Taylor has been named on an extended bench and could make his debut for the Raiders.

Wests Tigers Scouting Report - The Tigers have suffered a big blow in the lead up to this game losing Elijah Taylor who is out due to a family emergency. Whilst I think Taylor has been over playing his hand a bit in attack in the opening 2 rounds the Tigers will miss his clean up work and tackling around the ruck. The Tigers are also  missing Jamal Idris with a foot injury who is likely to be replaced on the bench by the returning Tim Grant. After a poor team performance last week it will be interesting to see what Head Coach Jason Taylor does with his extended bench, with Matt Ballin and Kyle Lovett potentially available for their first game in First Grade this season.

Verdict - Raiders 1-12 in a high scoring game

I think this game might prove a cracking game of football. I think both sides will be a hell of a lot better than they were last weekend. We have already seen numerous examples this year in the early rounds of teams bouncing back from a heavy defeat often responding with a big victory. The conundrum  here is that both sides are in that situation, however I have to go for the Raiders at home given the way they completely destroyed the Tigers last year. I think Ricky Stuart's men have the size and skill to formulate a game plan that really worries smaller sides like the Tigers. Josh Papali strolled through for a number of tries last year, while the Canberra pack really dominated the Tigers. However, I think the Raiders are a bit vulnerable at the moment and I would not be surprised if the Tigers put 4-5 tries on them. I just don’t trust the Tigers to not concede 5 or 6 tries.