Matchday Details
Thursday, 19 March 2026 – 8:00pm AEDT – GIO Stadium, Canberra
📺 Broadcast: Nine / Fox League / Kayo
Referee: Adam Gee | Bunker: Phil Henderson
Canberra Raiders
1. Kaeo Weekes, 2. Savelio Tamale, 3. Simi Sasagi, 4. Sebastian Kris, 5. Xavier Savage, 6. Ethan Strange, 7. Ethan Sanders, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Tom Starling, 10. Joseph Tapine (c), 11. Hudson Young, 12. Noah Martin, 13. Corey Horsburgh, 14. Jayden Brailey, 15. Zac Hosking, 16. Ata Mariota, 17. Morgan Smithies, 18. Daine Laurie, 19. Matthew Timoko, 20. Owen Pattie, 21. Joe Roddy, 22. Jed Stuart
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
1. Connor Tracey, 2. Jacob Kiraz, 3. Enari Tuala, 4. Stephen Crichton, 5. Marcelo Montoya, 6. Matt Burton, 7. Lachlan Galvin, 8. Max King, 9. Bailey Hayward, 10. Samuel Hughes, 11. Viliame Kikau, 12. Jacob Preston, 13. Jaeman Salmon, 14. Kurt Mann, 15. Sitili Tupouniua, 16. Harry Hayes, 17. Josh Curran, 19. Sean O’Sullivan, 20. Jake Turpin, 21. Jonathan Sua, 22. Lipoi Hopoi, 23. Fletcher Baker
Match Preview
Six months since their “straight set” finals exit, the Raiders are back home and ready for redemption.
While the ACT Brumbies have kept the seats warm, the real show starts Thursday night, with the Raiders having a full slate of 12 regular season home games.
Canberrans embraced the Raiders’ minor premiership run last year, with four sell outs (and most likely a sold out preliminary final if they’d gotten that far).
After a relatively light Pre-Season Challenge (we all know how much Ricky loves trials), Canberra comes off two tough road trips: a Golden Point win against Manly (which they should have won comfortably in regulation time), and a 40-6 loss to the Warriors. While the score blew out in the last 20 minutes, how much of this was the Warriors’ momentum compared to the Raiders’ fatigue in the constant rain? Possibly a mix of both.
In contrast, Canterbury-Bankstown come off almost three weeks’ break. Their last game was in Las Vegas on Sunday March 1 (Australian time). This is arguably the fault of the NRL’s scheduling: with a week off after Vegas, did they need a bye straight away (while Newcastle, North Queensland, and St George Illawarra played in Round 2)? And will using up a bye this early hurt them later in the year?
Canberra and Canterbury met once in 2025, and it was a belter. At a packed out GIO Stadium, Canberra were flying with a 20-0 half-time lead, but when Stephen Crichton got going after half-time, the same old “Faiders” dread crept up on home fans, with Canterbury winning 32-20. You could argue this was a preview of Canberra’s finals campaign, where the lack of big game experience and pressure of expectation got to them. If this game gets close, will the Raiders’ demons return (with memories of THAT loss to Brisbane haunting them)? Will Critta tear Canberra apart again? Or are the 2026 Raiders more resilient? And how rusty will Canterbury be after a long break and a game against the Dragons where they were well below par?
Canberra welcomes Josh Papalii back from concussion stand down, with Morgan Smithies back to the bench after filling in at starting prop in Auckland. Bronson Xerri’s absence has generated a lot of headlines for Canterbury, and who knows if he’ll take his medicine in NSW Cup and return to first grade, or will Enari Tuala play well enough to keep the centre spot and Xerri starts looking elsewhere?
The big match-up is Ethan Sanders vs Lachlan Galvin. This is “The Colonel’s” first home game as a Raider. While he showed pleasing composure in the win at Manly, can he continue that with home fans hoping he can step up after Jamal Fogarty left? And while Ethan Strange is only in his fourth season, he’s arguably a senior player now and will be looking to build a winning combination with his namesake (could “Ethan Squared” become the new “Leipana”?).
While everyone is sick of Galvin clickbait, he needs to show he’s a match-winning half. While Burton’s experience will help, most of the pressure will fall on Galvin. Can Galvin ignore the inevitable noise and become the clutch player than Canterbury needs him to be?
Prediction
RLZ Tip: Raiders by 6 points.
Bold call: Noah Martin to cement his growing cult status in Canberra with his third try of the season.
Related
- NRL Round 3 Hub
- NRL Round 3 2026 Predictions & Tips
- NRL Round 3 Team Lists – 2026 Season
- NRL 2026 Results Tracker
- 2026 NRL Match Review Results Tracker: Charges, Suspensions & Fines
- NRL Injury List 2026
