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Raiders v Eels: Simpson to debut; Murphy nears return
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Raiders v Eels: Simpson to debut; Murphy nears return

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ljmpta.com
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The Raiders are desperate to kickstart their season when they host the Parramatta Eels on Saturday afternoon. 

Canberra have lost their opening two games of the year, but there have been promising signs from a host of emerging players. 

Georgia Thomas returns in the halves and will hoping to strengthen her combination with veteran Zahara Temara, will pose plenty of challenges for the Eels defence. 

Parramatta suffered a tough defeat to the Warriors in Auckland last week and they face another tricky road trip in Round 3.

Fullback Abbi Church has been dangerous throughout the first two weeks of the season and she'll be looking to take advantage of any space in kick returns to break the game open. 

A pair of England internationals are also set to go head-to-head, with Parramatta's Paige Travis to take on Canberra's Hollie-Mae Dodd.

Team News

Raiders: Quite a few changes for the Raiders who will be looking to shake off a poor performance against the Sharks last week. Cheyelle Robins-Reti shifts from fullback to centres in place of Mackenzie Wiki, with Elise Simpson coming in at the back for her NRLW debut. Georgia Thomas returns as five-eighth replacing Sereana Naitokatoka, with Chante Temara returned to start at hooker in place of Emma Barnes who will miss the match due to concussion protocols​. Lili Boyle in the new player on the bench. Amelia Pasikala is the new 18th player. 

Eels: Only a slight tweak to the 17 with Breanna Eales again named to start with Tess McWilliams on the bench. However, they swapped roles last week and could again be a game-day switch. Co-captain Mahalia Murphy has been named as the 18th player as she looks to return from a hamstring injury. 

Team Lists

Backs

  • Fullback for Raiders is number 1 Elise Simpson
    Fullback for Eels is number 1 Abbi Church
  • Winger for Raiders is number 2 Madison Bartlett
    Winger for Eels is number 2 Zali Fay
  • Centre for Raiders is number 3 Leianne Tufuga
    Centre for Eels is number 3 Rory Owen
  • Centre for Raiders is number 4 Cheyelle Robins-Reti
    Centre for Eels is number 4 Lindsay Tui
  • Winger for Raiders is number 5 Isabella Waterman
    Winger for Eels is number 5 Martha Mataele
  • Five-Eighth for Raiders is number 6 Georgia Thomas
    Five-Eighth for Eels is number 6 Cassey Tohi-Hiku
  • Halfback for Raiders is number 7 Zahara Temara
    Halfback for Eels is number 7 Rachael Pearson

Forwards

  • Prop for Raiders is number 8 Chloe Saunders
    Prop for Eels is number 8 Elsie Albert
  • Hooker for Raiders is number 9 Chanté Temara
    Hooker for Eels is number 9 Rueben Cherrington
  • Prop for Raiders is number 10 Sophie Holyman
    Prop for Eels is number 10 Breanna Eales
  • 2nd Row for Raiders is number 11 Monalisa Soliola
    2nd Row for Eels is number 11 Chloe Jackson
  • 2nd Row for Raiders is number 12 Hollie-Mae Dodd
    2nd Row for Eels is number 12 Paige Travis
  • Lock for Raiders is number 13 Simaima Taufa
    Lock for Eels is number 13 Ryvrr-Lee Alo

Interchange

  • Interchange for Raiders is number 14 Lili Boyle
    Interchange for Eels is number 14 Taneka Todhunter
  • Interchange for Raiders is number 15 Grace Kemp
    Interchange for Eels is number 15 Rysh'e Fa'amausili
  • Interchange for Raiders is number 16 Jordyn Preston
    Interchange for Eels is number 16 Tess McWilliams
  • Interchange for Raiders is number 17 Tatiana Finau
    Interchange for Eels is number 17 Fleur Ginn

Reserves

  • Replacement for Raiders is number 18 Amelia Pasikala
    Replacement for Eels is number 18 Mahalia Murphy
  • Reserve for Raiders is number 19 Kerehitina Matua
    Reserve for Eels is number 19 Rosemarie Beckett
  • Reserve for Raiders is number 20 Jaida Faleono
    Reserve for Eels is number 20 Ruby-Jean Kennard-Ellis
  • Reserve for Raiders is number 21 Relna Wuruki-Hosea
    Reserve for Eels is number 21 Yasmine Baker
  • Reserve for Raiders is number 22 Sereana Naitokatoka
    Reserve for Eels is number 22 Chelsea Makira

Raiders Ins

  • Amelia Pasikala
  • Elise Simpson
  • Georgia Thomas
  • Kerehitina Matua
  • Lili Boyle
  • Relna Wuruki-Hosea

Eels Ins

  • Chelsea Makira
  • Mahalia Murphy
  • Ruby-Jean Kennard-Ellis
  • Yasmine Baker

Raiders Outs

  • Emma Barnes
  • Mackenzie Wiki

Eels Ins

Match Officials

  • Senior Review Official: Matt Noyen

Last updated:

Stat Attack

  • The Raiders have lost their last eight games at GIO Stadium.
  • Eels halfback Rachael Pearson has kicked seven goals from nine attempts at GIO Stadium.
  • Raiders winger Madison Bartlett has been a tryscorer in both games against the Eels.

Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services, author of the 

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