Sunday’s NRL 2018 Round 2 match is between Canberra Raiders and Newcastle Knights. The opening kick is set to commence at 18:30 local time with the game to be played at GIO Stadium. The home team Canberra Raiders are the favourites for the match. View our preview and teams for the game between Canberra Raiders and Newcastle Knights.

When: 18:30 | Sunday 18/03/2018

Where: GIO Stadium

Preview:

Raiders playmaker Aidan Sezer is one the Raiders’ most creative players but he’ll have to settle for a bench role for the time being.
Coach Ricky Stuart has elected to play Sezer from the bench and after starting on the pine against the Titans, he’ll likely start from the bench again against the Knights.
Fresh off a pulsating golden point victory over the Manly Sea Eagles, the new-look Newcastle Knights are looking to break a massive hoodoo in Canberra, a venue where they’ve tasted victory on just 5 occasions since 1988.
The Knights take an unchanged line-up to the nation’s capital while the Raiders have lost backrower Joseph Tapine (broken finger), replaced by Luke Bateman.

The Verdict

Canberra lead 8-6-1 against the Knights since 2010 and have won 3 and drawn 1 of the last 5.
After losing as a favourite, the Raiders are 7-4 (63.6 percent) since 2016.
Newcastle are 93-104 (47.2 percent) in the “Yes (Either Team to win both halves)” market since 2010.

Unibet Odds: Canberra Raiders 1.67 Newcastle Knights 2.23

Odds:

OFFER: Deposit $50 BET with $200 via this link – Ends Soon!

Tip: Canberra Raiders at $1.63

Value Bet: First Try Scorer: Jarrod Croker at $14.00

More Info:

Teams:

Raiders:

1 Jack Wighton, 2 Nick Cotric, 3 Jarrod Croker (c), 4 Joseph Leilua, 5 Jordan Rapana, 6 Blake Austin, 7 Sam Williams, 8 Iosia Soliola, 9 Siliva Havili, 10 Shannon Boyd, 11 Josh Papalii, 12 Elliott Whitehead, 13 Luke Batman Interchange: 14 Aiden Sezer, 15 Junior Paulo, 16 Dunamis Lui, 17 Charlie Gubb Reserves: 18 Craig Garvey, 19 Michael Oldfield, 20 Royce Hunt, 21 Jack Murchie.

Knights:

1 Kalyn Ponga, 2 Shaun Kenny-Dowall, 3 Sione Mata’utia, 4 Tautau Moga, 5 Nathan Ross, 6 Connor Watson, 7 Mitchell Pearce (c), 8 Herman Ese’ese, 9 Slade Griffin, 10 Jacob Lillyman, 11 Lachlan Fitzgibbon, 12 Aidan Guerra, 13 Mitchell Barnett Interchange: 14 Brock Lamb, 15 Chris Heighington, 16 Jamie Buhrer (c), 17 Daniel Saifiti Reserves: 18 Ken Sio, 19 Jacob Saifiti, 20 Daniel Levi, 21 Luke Yates.

NRL News:

Gold Coast coach Garth Brennan will only need to look at Canberra’s bench to see the threats posed as he prepares to coach his first NRL game on Sunday.

He admitted his surprise at seeing playmaker Blake Austin left out of the Raiders’ starting side for the first round.

But with halfback Sam Williams returning for his third stint at the club he sees a balanced side laced with firepower on the edges.

“Blake’s a class player and himself and Aidan Sezer have had a strong combination but Sam Williams has been there three times, he knows the club and the players and I think they’ve got a really good mix there with what they’re doing,” Brennan said.

“They’ve certainly got some strike (power).

“That right edge with (Joseph) Leilua and (Jordan) Rapana are certainly quality, score a lot of tries and (Jarrod) Croker and (Nick) Cotric aren’t slouches either.”

Rapana was in the NRL’s top five for tries (21), equal second for line breaks (27) and second in tackle busts (147) last year, while Cotric was third in tackle busts (121) and scored 16 tries in his debut season.

They will provide Brennan with a stern test as he look to establish his Titans in the post Neil Henry-Jarryd Hayne era.

The undermanned Titans lost their last seven games last season as coach Henry, embroiled in a stand off with Hayne, was shown the door.

Since then Brennan has done his best to fashion his own team, with fullback Michael Gordon, lock Bryce Cartwright, utility Mitch Rein and forwards Leilani Latu, Will Matthews and Jai Arrow all set for Titans debuts on Sunday.

Captain Ryan James’ shift to the second row will also offer a different look, while halves Kane Elgey and Ashley Taylor have been instructed to play on both sides of the ruck.

“The style I want to play this year involves our back-rowers influencing the way we play,” Brennan said of James’ move.

“Having bodies there in James and (Kevin) Proctor on the edge is going to trouble some teams, but don’t be surprised to see him (James) spend some time in the middle.”

STATS THAT MATTER

* The Titans lost their last seven games to finish the 2017 season in second-last position.

* The Raiders are one of just four teams the Titans have a winning record (11-9) against.

* The Titans made the least tackle busts (18.6) in 2017 while the Raiders scored the equal-second most tries (four) per game.