VENUE & TIME: Canberra Stadium, Sunday July 26, 2:00pm (AEST).
COVERAGE: Fox Sports 2
LAST TIME: Tigers 34 - Raiders 26 at Campbelltown Stadium, Round 1, 2009.
WALKING WOUNDED: Tom Learoyd-Lahrs limped from the field with a knee injury for the Raiders last weekend and will miss this clash as a result. He joins David Shillington (ribs) and Justin Carney (leg) on the sidelines.
Tigers coach Tim Sheens has named an unchanged line-up for this week with Cronulla-bound centre Dean Collis returning from a broken arm as 18th man. Chris Heighington (leg), Dean Halatau (knee) and Keith Galloway (knee) are all due back within the next month.
FORM: The Raiders copped some rough decisions last Saturday night at the foot of the mountains, but that shouldn't disguise the fact their overall performance was poor considering their finals' hopes were on the line. The Green Machine have now slipped to 14th spot on the ladder and six points shy of eighth spot with a poor points differential. Season over.
The Tigers are still in the finals hunt following their convincing 34-14 defeat of the Cowboys in front of over 18,000 at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday. They have scored a combined total of 88 points in their last two matches against teams above them on the ladder.
WHO'S HOT: The best and worst of Benji Marshall was on display during Wests Tigers' match against Cowboys last week. Marshall took the ball from a scrum win 20m out and weaved and dummied across field before slicing through and crossing in the corner. The Raiders were well beaten by the Panthers last week but Terry Campese, Daniel Vidot and Jarrod Croker gave their supporters some joy by scoring some second-half tries
WE THINK: This game is a real toss of the coin considering both sides have a major problem with consistency. But the Tigers have stepped up a level over the past few weeks and some of their key players are finding their best form of the season, most notably five-eighth Benji Marshall. The Raiders may be at home, however their attack has failed to click all season and they are missing some key big men up front. Tigers by 12.
TEAMS
Canberra Raiders:
1. Josh Dugan, 2. Daniel Vidot, 3. Jarrod Croker, 4. Joel Monaghan, 5. Phil Graham, 6. Terry Campese, 7. Marc Herbert, 8. Dane Tilse, 9. Glen Buttriss, 10. Troy Thompson, 11. Glen Turner, 12. Bronson Harrison, 13. Alan Tongue [c]. Interchange: 14. Joel Thompson, 15. Nigel Plum, 16. Josh Miller, 17. Trevor Thurling, 18. Joe Picker (one to be omitted).
Wests Tigers:
Shannon Gallant, Taniela Tuiaki, Blake Ayshford, Chris Lawrence, Beau Ryan, Benji Marshall, Tim Moltzen, Bryce Gibbs, Robbie Farah [c], Todd Payten, Gareth Ellis, Danny Galea, Corey Payne. Interchange: John Morris, Alan Schirnack, John Skandalis, Simon Dwyer, Dean Collis.
Referees: Tony Archer & Phil Haines