Darry Worthington previews Saturday’s NRL Round 7 clash between the Parramatta Eels and the Canberra Raiders.
Image Copyright – Steve Haag Sports
The headline clash of the sixth round of the 2020 AFL season will see the log-leading Parramatta Eels take on the fifth-placed Canberra at the Bankwest Stadium. The Eels suffered their first defeat of the season last weekend and will be eager to bounce back against a Raiders have lost two of their first six games.
With Rugby Union leagues restarting, we’ve decided to cut down on our AFL previews and will just be looking at the headline clash of the weekend. Fret not, however, as we’ll still be offering quick-fire tips for each game. These tips can be found under the verdict segment of this piece.
Parramatta Eels v Canberra Raiders
Saturday 27 June
Bankwest Stadium
To Win (80 Mins)
Parramatta
Draw
Canberra
Parramatta
Paramatta maintained saw their flawless start to the season tarnished last weekend as they went down 24-10 to the Sydney Roosters.
Prior to that, Paramatta had racked up wins over the Bulldogs (8-2), the Titans (6-46), the Broncos (6-34), the Sea Eagles (19-6) and the Panthers 16-10.
The Eels, despite winning the last encounter between the sides, have a rather dismal record against the Raiders and have lost four of the last five encounters with their opponents from Canberra. Their sole victory in the last five games between the duo came in the return clash between the sides last year where they won 22-16.
Canberra
The Raiders also head into this one off the back of a defeat as they registered a shock loss 16-14 to the Sea Eagles. This was their second loss of the campaign with their first coming in Round 4 where they went down 18-34 to the high-flying Knights.
Canberra victories this season have come against the Titans (24-6), the Warriors (6-20), the Storm (6-22) and the Wests Tigers (6-14).
As alluded to early, Canberra have a very healthy recent record against Parramatta. There most impressive display came in the first tie between the two sides in the 2019 season where they kept their opponents scoreless running out 19-0 victors.
Verdict: Parramatta
I know they have a poor record against the Raiders but I reckon the Eels will take this one.
Other Tips
Penrith Panthers Win
Melbourne Storm Win
Roosters by less than 6
Knights Win
Titans Win
Sea Eagles Win
Wests Tigers Win
