Vale: Terry Hill
18 hours ago | National Rugby League
Raiders v Titans preview
Canberra Raiders v Gold Coast Titans
GIO Stadium - Saturday 3:00pm 
Canberra's side is unchanged from their memorable win against the Rabbitohs in Cairns a fortnight ago. They'll welcome back Blake Austin, Jack Wighton, Jarrod Croker and Paul Vaughan from representative duties with the Country and City teams. Austin was almost best on field for City, scoring a triple for his side and terrorising the Country defences. All of the Raiders' representatives were impressive, and will be looking to bring those performances back to NRL level.
Greg Bird will miss this game, and probably the next few, out suspended after a lifting tackle against New Zealand on Sunday. His loss is a big one for the Titans - they rely on him heavily in the middle to sure up their defence, and also to provide some aggression in attack. However, the Titans welcome back Dave Taylor and Daniel Mortimer to the starting line up, with Mark Ioane and Davin Crampton added to the interchange bench.
Both sides were a little up and down in the early part of the season - well, actually more down than up. The Raiders have turned it around, winning 3 of their last 4, but still seem to struggle winning at home. The Titans have won 4 from their last 5, with a loss to competition leaders the Broncos their only slip up. Saturday's clash should be a close one.
Last meeting: Round 18 2014 - Gold Coast Titans 20 Canberra Raiders 36
Who to watch: For Canberra, we're interested in the performances of both Blake Austin and Jack Wighton. Emerging as a smokey for NSW, Wighton has been in great form all season, and did nothing to harm his chances in the Country v City clash. Big, strong, tough and fast, Wighton is exactly the type of player that is needed in Origin, and NSW could do worse than to give him a shot. Austin, on the other hand, was probably nowhere near contention for NSW a week ago, but after watching him on Sunday afternoon, selectors will be giving him a closer look.
Ryan James was almost un-tackleable for the Titans in round 8 against the Warriors, as he ran for 150 metres, with a line break and a try assist to boot. In the absence of Greg Bird this weekend, the Titans will be looking to him to provide some solid go forward. With Daniel Mortimer back in the side, James' offloading should have even more attacking weight behind it, considering Mortimer is renowned for his backing up skills.
The favourite: The Raiders are slight favourites, most likely because they're playing at home. Don't be surprised to see a Titans win.
My tip: I think the Raiders will get the points, provided they don't have another collapse at GIO Stadium... again. Raiders by 8.
1. Jack Wighton 2. Edrick Lee 3. Jarrod Croker 4. Sisa Waqa 5. Jordan Rapana 6. Blake Austin 7. Sam Williams 8. Paul Vaughan 9. Josh Hodgson 10. Frank Paul Nuuausala 11. Josh Papalii 12. Iosia Soliola 13. Shaun Fensom
Interchange: 14. Kurt Baptiste 15. Jarrad Kennedy 16. Mark Nicholls 17. Shannon Boyd
1. Josh Hoffman 2. Anthony Don 3. James Roberts 4. William Zillman 5. David Mead 6. Aidan Sezer 7. Kane Elgey 8. Luke Douglas 9. Kierran Moseley 10. Nate Myles 11. Ryan James 12. Dave Taylor 13. Lachlan Burr
Interchange: 14. Matt White 15. Eddy Pettybourne 16. Mark Ioane 17. Daniel Mortimer 18. Davin Crampton
Referees: Grant Atkins, Gavin Badger; Sideline Officials: Phil Henderson, Tim Roby; Video Referees: Ashley Klein, Ben Galea;