The Toyota Forklifts Canberra Raiders will travel to Mudgee to take on the Penrith Panthers this Friday night in one of the most anticipated games of the season.

The Green Machine hold firm atop the ladder for yet another week after having a weekend’s rest with the bye.

In the Raiders’ last clash, they came away with a dominant 28-12 win over the Manly Sea-Eagles at GIO Stadium.

Meanwhile, the Penrith Panthers suffered their first defeat in three months after the Melbourne Storm came away with a 22-18 golden point victory.

Both of these teams have a point to prove when they take on each other, with the Raiders aiming to nail their first Minor Premiership since 1990, while the Panthers will be looking to return to the top four.

Talking Points:

Coach Ricky Stuart has kept an unchanged lineup for Friday night’s blockbuster clash.
The Panthers have won five of their past six games against the Raiders
Ethan Strange has scored eight tries in his last nine games
Penrith skipper Isaah Yeo has been named in the extended bench and is expected to play
The Raiders currently hold an 86%-win rate against top eight sides, which is the best in the NRL. 

Last time they met

Last time these two sides met, the Raiders beat the Panthers 22-18 at GIO Stadium in Canberra during round 25, 2024

Key Match-up:

Jamal Fogarty vs Nathan Cleary

The battle of the two superstar halfbacks will be on show for the entirety of this match. The kicking game, leadership and eyes-up awareness of both halves are exponential in their team’s success throughout the season.

Jamal Fogarty has led his team from the front foot and has had his career-best season with the Raiders.

Fogarty’s kicking game is his greatest strength and currently leads the NRL with a total of 9666 kicking meters throughout the season, but it isn’t just the kicking meters that is most impressive, it’s his placement of where he places the kick.

Many times, this season we have seen his combination with Xavier Savage grow with where he places the kick to perfectly allow Savage to compete and score throughout the season.

The leadership ability that Fogarty also possesses is massive to the team’s success, he has always led from the front and never backs down from a fight.

Fogarty will no doubt be raring to go and will be keen for this monstrous clash between himself and Nathan Cleary.

Meanwhile, Cleary continues to stamp himself as one of the best players in the competition and is no doubt a massive part of his team’s success both on and off the field.

Cleary has also recently had the ball on a string and is only just behind Fogarty in kick meters ranking third with a total of 9409 meters, but just like Fogarty its his ability to place the kick perfectly, whether it be in goal or in-play.

The eyes-up footy of Cleary is a beauty to watch as the number seven isn’t scared of backing himself to run it on the last to try to catch the defenders out of play and has on multiple occasions won them the game by doing so.

No doubt he has had his eyes on this clash for a long time and will be looking to prove that they are still the real deal come finals time and will be looking to lead his team back into the top four.

The clash between the two halfbacks will be a joy to watch for all fans of the NRL and will give us a little insight into how the finals will play out.

Head-to-Head

Since 1982, the Raiders have played the Panthers 84 times, winning 40 of them for an efficiency rate of 47.61%