NRL Round 8 Preview and Prediction - Canberra Raiders v Manly Sea Eagles @ GIO Stadium

Canberra Raiders v Manly Sea Eagles @ GIO Stadium
 
Preview - The surging Raiders will be after a 4th straight win this week when they tackle the Sea Eagles at GIo Stadium in Canberra on Friday night. After a slow start to the season, the Raiders have built up some momentum in the past 3 weeks with fairly convincing wins over the Eels and Warriors, and domination of the Titans on the Gold Coast. Most pleasing for Ricky Stuart last week would have been the team’s defensive resolve in only giving up 8-points against a Warriors’ side that had plenty of ball in the Raiders 20-metre zone. The Sea Eagles were gallant in defeat last week against the Melbourne Storm, coming from 18-0 down to go down narrowly 30-26 in a wild and whacky game at Lottoland. The Sea Eagles have won their only 2 away games this season against the Cowboys and Roosters. 
 
History - The Sea Eagles have a great record in Canberra, having won 5 of their past 6 matches at GIO Stadium. However, on the flip side, the Raiders enjoy Friday night games in Canberra having won 4 of their past 5 Friday night games. Overall, the Sea Eagles have won 30 games to the Raiders 20 with 1 draw. 
 
Canberra Raiders’ Scouting Report - The Raiders are unchanged from the side that beat the Warriors at home last week. I think this year the Raiders have shown signs of greater resilience in defence, which might be the biggest obstacle in front of them on the road to winning an NRL title. The Raiders have conceded just 123 points this year, at an average of 17 points per game, which is already an improvement on what they did defensively last season.
 
Manly Sea Eagles’ Scouting Report - The Sea Eagles get Martin Taupau to bolster their stocks up front. Taupau has been in great form this year compared to his relatively disappointing 2016. However, Trent Barrett must be frustrated about the amount of football he has missed because he leaves a big hole in this Manly pack when he is not there. Addin Fonua-Blake moves back to the bench whilst Curtis Sironen has struggled the past couple of games and remains on the bench.
 
Verdict - Raiders by 18+ in a high scoring game
 
I think Manly have hit a bit of a wall and a road trip down to Canberra is exactly not the sort of game they need right now. The Sea Eagles have conceded over 60 points combined in their last 2 games and, with the Raiders starting to go through the gears, I think this could be an ugly night for them here at GIO Stadium. Especially on the back of a 6 day turnaround against a strong side in the Storm last week. The Raiders have slowly built up their fitness and form and, whilst their attack was a little bit off against the Warriors, it was still a strong victory in a game where they conceded a lot of territory and repelled the Warriors time and time again. Manly's road form has been good this year, however I think they are due a flat performance on the road and this might be it, against an opponent that is hitting it's stride.