Check out the match preview and prediction for the 2025 National Rugby League round 16 clash between the Wests Tigers and the Canberra Raiders.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Wests Tigers Vs Canberra Raiders
Venue: Campbelltown Sports Stadium, Sydney
Date: Friday 20 June 2025, 8:00pm (AEST)
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Tigers: 1. Jahream Bula 2. Sunia Turuva 3. Adam Doueihi 4. Starford To’a 5. Jeral Skelton 6. Heath Mason 7. Jarome Luai 8. Terrell May 9. Apisai Koroisau 10. Fonua Pole 11. Samuela Fainu 12. Alex Seyfarth 13. Alex Twal 14. Tallyn Da Silva 15. Sione Fainu 16. Latu Fainu 17. Jack Bird 18. Tony Sukkar 19. Charlie Murray 20. Charlie Staines 21. Kit Laulilii 22. Izaac Tu’itupou
Raiders: 1. Kaeo Weekes 2. Jed Stuart 3. Matthew Timoko 4. Sebastian Kris 5. Xavier Savage 6. Ethan Strange 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Josh Papali’i 9. Tom Starling 10. Joseph Tapine 11. Hudson Young 12. Zac Hosking 13. Corey Horsburgh 14. Owen Pattie 15. Simi Sasagi 16. Morgan Smithies 17. Ata Mariota 18. Noah Martin 19. Chevy Stewart 20. Danny Levi 21. Ethan Sanders 22. Pasami Saulo
Referee: Adam Gee
Bunker: Kasey Badger
MATCHDAY PREVIEW
Canberra will make the trip up to Campbelltown this Friday to take on Benji Marshall’s Wests Tigers. Luckily for Canberra, Benji is amongst the coaching staff and not on the field this week, as past trips to Campbelltown with Benji in the Tigers playing strip haven’t been as kind to the Raiders.
The Tigers welcome back some key forwards for this one: front rower Fonua Pole returns to the starting lineup after a three-week layoff with a minor knee injury. His return means that Sione Fainu moves back to the bench, who is a handy option in himself. Versatile forward Alex Twal – who suffered a concussion two rounds ago – is now eligible to return and does so in his usual lock forward role. A further bolster to their rotation sees hooker Tallyn Da Silva return to the bench in jersey fourteen.
It’s a feel-good moment inside the Raiders camp this week, with another father-son NRL player and coach duo being unveiled this week. Son of Raiders coach Ricky Stuart, Jed Stuart is set to make his long-awaited NRL debut on the wing. Taller and leaner than his father, Jed has been praised for his athletic abilities and is believed to be a more than capable replacement for Savelio Tamale, whose breakthrough NRL season has been disrupted cruelly to injury requiring surgery. Reports say Tamale might be fit as early as round 25 should the Raiders continue to make a premiership push. Other than this the Raiders team is unchanged pending any fallout from Wednesday’s State of Origin match in Perth.
Markets suggest the Raiders are heavy favourites on Friday night and the data backs this up. Canberra are sitting pretty in second place and are challenging for the minor premiership, while the Tigers – despite recruiting well in the off-season – sit in 13th. What is interesting about this year’s completion is that even though they sit 13th they are only two points outside the top eight. The second layer to the heavy favouritism for Canberra is the sheer dominance they have over the Tigers, winning eight of the last nine games. However, the last time these teams met in round 16 2024 at Campbelltown Stadium, the Tigers won 48-24. This could be a good omen for the Tigers as coincidently it’s the same round and venue as last year’s meeting.
The game will be won or lost by the Tigers on the defensive end. The Raiders are averaging 28 points per game this season in attack while the Tigers are averaging 25 points conceded. It doesn’t take a mathematician to realise that the Raiders look projected to score around 26 points based on these figures. On a cool dewy Friday evening in Campbelltown this will be too many points for the Tigers to chase to realistically get the win. The Tigers forwards will have to win the battle through the middle early to ensure the Raiders don’t get an easy roll on, allowing their talented outside backs don’t get the freedom to do damage. The returns of Pole and Twal is a huge boost in this regard, so I think this game has the potential to be a lot closer than expected. I do think Jed Stuart will be celebrating a win on debut with his father, but not by as much as people are predicting.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Raiders by 8 points.
Check out our round 16 predictions here.
Follow Us on Facebook
