Saturday third NRL Round 9 match is between New Zealand Warriors and Canberra Raiders with the opening kick to commence at 15pm. The game is to be played at Eden Park which see’s home team New Zealand Warriors hold favouritism in the market. View our NRL live scores, odds and results for the game between New Zealand Warriors and Canberra Raiders.
WHERE AND WHEN: Eden Park, Saturday 15pm
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Odds Comparison:
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| New Zealand Warriors | 1.48 | 1.45 | 1.46 | 1.45 | 1.48 | 1.48 |
| Canberra Raiders | 2.75 | 2.85 | 2.80 | 2.85 | 2.75 | 2.75 |
All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.
Preview:
The Warriors lifted themselves off the bottom of the table with a much needed, and much unexpected, win over Melbourne in round 8, 16 – 10.
It was the Warriors first win in a month, their third of the season. The last thing they would’ve wanted after a win was a week off due to the representative round however, they host the struggling Raiders at Eden Park this week and have a great chance of registering back-to-back wins for the first time since round 24/25 last year.
It was a tough effort by the Warriors in Melbourne against the Storm.
They scored first through David Fusitua in the ninth minute and extended the lead further when Feleti Mateo crossed eighteen minutes later.
A try either side of halftime to the home-side had them back in the game and scores level but the Warriors toughed it out well, a quality that hasn’t been seen to often from them this year, in the final quarter of the match and it was fitting that Shaun Johnson, the Warriors halfback and chief play-maker, sealed the game with a try in the 63rd minute.
It continued a trend of improving performances from the Warriors over the past three weeks under new coach Andrew McFadden and a similar effort this week will make them hard to beat.
After clinching their third win of the season in round 7 against Melbourne with a try in the dying moment of the game, the Raiders travelled to Manly’s Brookvale Oval in round 8 hoping to make it consecutive wins for the first time since round 19/20 last year.
They were wiped off the park.
Manly had scored five tries before the Raiders registered their first points of the game in the 35th minute when winger Reece Robinson scored.
Only two tries to the home-side in the second half, coupled with two Raiders tries in the last five minutes of the match, made the 54 – 18 read better than what it should’ve been.
The one consistent about the Raiders is their inconsistency. They’ve proved a punter’s nightmare this season, winning their three games as outsiders and getting rolled on the rare occasion they are favoured to win.
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The head to New Zealand this weekend having won three of the past four matches played between the clubs over the past two seasons with the same ratio of games resulting in a total point score of greater than 44 points.
With four of the next five matches after this game at home for the Raiders, they have a real opportunity here to get the ball rolling and breath some life into their season. Their unpredictability and record over the Warriors make the $2.65 about the Raiders who have defeated the Rabbitohs and Newcastle away this season, worthy of some consideration in a game where it’s hard to take either side with a great deal of confidence.
Teams:
New Zealand Warriors:
Sam Tomkins, Ngani Laumape, Konrad Hurrell, Ben Henry, Manu Vatuvei, Chad Townsend, Shaun Johnson, Sam Rapira, Nathan Friend, Jacob Lillyman, Jayson Bukuya, Simon Mannering, Sebastine Ikahihifo. Interchange: Feleti Mateo, Suaia Matagi, Sione Lousi, Ben Matulino, Kevin Locke
Ins: Sione Lousi, Ben Matulino, Kevin Locke
Outs: David Fusitua (shoulder, indefinite), Siliva Havili (dropped)
Other unavailables: Thomas Leuluai (groin, indefinite), Glen Fisiiahi (shoulder, round 10), Jerome Ropati (broken jaw, round 12)
Canberra Raiders:
Anthony Milford, Reece Robinson, Jarrod Croker, Matthew Allwood, Bill Tupou, Jack Wighton, Terry Campese, Dane Tilse, Glen Buttriss, Brett White, Paul Vaughan, Joel Edwards, Shaun Fensom. Interchange: Josh McCrone, Kyle O’Donnell, David Shillington, Josh Papalii, Jarrad Kennedy
Ins: Kyle O’Donnell, Jarrad Kennedy
Outs: Shannon Boyd (sternum, round 10)
Other unavailables: Edrick Lee (foot, indefinite), Jeff Lynch (knee, season)
News:
The Warriors are wary of a wounded Canberra Raiders eager to make amends for a thrashing as they look to consolidate momentum in their NRL campaign.
The Auckland-based club host Canberra on Saturday in a clash between two teams sitting near the bottom of the table with six points from eight matches.
The sides are coming off contrasting results from the last round, the Warriors producing a gutsy 16-10 win away to Melbourne, whereas the Raiders were thumped 54-18 by Manly.
Centre Ben Henry, who made his Kiwis debut in last week’s Anzac Test in the unfamiliar position of hooker, says the way the Warriors were able to go toe-to-toe with the Storm has lifted confidence within the camp.
But Henry believes every NRL team coming off a drubbing is dangerous and expects nothing less from Canberra.
“They’re a team with a young forward pack, but a big forward pack, and they have guys like Anthony Milford and Jarrod Croker out wide who can do the damage,” he said.
Croker scored three tries the last time the teams met.
But winger Manu Vatuvei and halfback Shaun Johnson also grabbed hat-tricks at Mt Smart Stadium last August as the Warriors ran out 50-16 winners.
Canberra coach Ricky Stuart has responded to the Manly defeat by dropping Kangaroos Josh Papalii and David Shillington to the bench.
Paul Vaughan replaces Auckland-born Papalii in the second row, while Dane Tilse gets the nod over Shillington at prop.
The Warriors’ starting 13 has one change, centre Konrad Hurrell coming into a reshuffled backline after injury to winger David Fusitua, scorer of a wonder try against the Storm.
Hurrell became the focus of unwanted attention this week over a leaked sex video, but coach Andrew McFadden is confident his players won’t be distracted by the incident.
The victory over the Storm featured a big defensive effort, with the Warriors conceding their fewest points in a game this season, and McFadden pointed to attitude as the key.
“There’s no doubt that you can have all the structure and all the skill in the world, but unless you’ve got the right mindset every week, you don’t get the result,” he said.
The match will provide the Warriors with another chance to break their duck at Eden Park, where they have yet to win in five attempts.
They came frustratingly close to ending their drought at the rugby stronghold last month in McFadden’s first game in charge after Matthew Elliott’s exit.
But Bulldog Trent Hodkinson’s late field goal consigned them to a 21-20 defeat.