Canberra's gutsy comeback win in Newcastle means their finals hopes are well and truly alive heading into a clash with a Manly team down on troops and confidence.
The Raiders have won five of their past six to climb from 11th to ninth on the ladder, their only defeat coming at the hands of minor premiers Penrith in Round 21.
In stark contrast, the Sea Eagles have lost five on the trot to slide out of finals contention and they face two away games to round out what has been a tough season for last year's preliminary finalists.
With Jake Trbojevic, Reuben Garrick and Jason Saab joining a long casualty list, Manly will have dig very deep if they are to stave off a Raiders side with a sniff of the finals in their nostrils and a vocal home crowd behind them.
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The Rundown
Team news
Raiders: Albert Hopoate took the place of Nic Cotric on the wing 24 hours out from kick-off, and there were no further late changes for the Green Machine. Canberra can move into the top eight for the first time since Round 3 this year with a win over Manly.
Sea Eagles: Plenty of late changes. Morgan Harper is out, which means Ben Trbojevic - who was originally promoted from the bench to replace Andrew Davey in the second row - moves to centre. Martin Taupau and Kurt De Luis are the starting props, with Josh Aloiai moving to lock in favour of Dylan Walker, who reverts back to the bench. Ethan Bullemor starts in the second row and Kaeo Weekes is the new face on the bench.
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Key match-up
Josh Papalii v Josh Aloiai: Combining with fellow Green Machine enforcer Joseph Tapine for 315 running metres and a shared try assist in Jack Wighton's match-winner, big Papa was back to his absolute best against the Knights. The 260-game veteran always turns up in the big moments and he'll look to lead from the front again as the Raiders make a late bid for finals. In a badly beaten Manly side on Saturday, Aloiai could hold his head high, clocking up 131 metres from 16 runs in 53 minutes of game time. He will continue to put his hand up for the tough carries just as he did back in Round 4 when he ran for 195 metres as the Sea Eagles downed the Raiders 25-6 in Mudgee.
Stat Attack
Joseph Tapine leads the NRL in post-contact metres with 1448 at a tick under 70 per match. The Raiders prop is enjoying the finest season of his career and is proving almost impossible to stop with a head of steam up. Josh Papalii is averaging 50 post-contact metres, giving the Raiders a 1-2 punch the equal of any in the competition. Fullback Reuben Garrick had racked up 1167 post-contact metres in 21 games for Manly before a shoulder injury cut his season short.
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