The two pillars of the Raiders defence – props Chloe Saunders and Sophie Holyman – are united in their goals from the final weeks of the 2026 NRLW season.
It’s a given they would like a maiden premiership, and they took another step towards that by holding Wests Tigers to a 6-0 scoreline in Friday night’s elimination final.
But they are also driven by another important component in Canberra’s success – Simaima Taufa.
Firstly, both Saunders and Holyman are quick to acknowledge what they’ve learned from her about taking control of the middle. Secondly, they hope their combined defensive work will lessen the blow for their teammates of not having Taufa on the field.
The veteran skipper is two games into a three-game suspension for a hip drop tackle on Eels fullback Abbi Church in Round 10. She will only play again this year if the Raiders can make the grand final.
Wests Tigers v Raiders - Finals Week 1, 2026
Saunders and Holyman did Taufa proud against the Wests Tigers with 31 runs between them and 292 running metres, when they were on the field for 55 minutes each.
“We have a really good connection and worked really hard on that in the pre-season,” Saunders told NRL.com.
“When we’re on together we’re really plugged into understanding how each other plays and working off that – our combined strengths.
“I know we’re smaller as far as props go but we’re fit and we rely on that to do the work.”
As for Taufa, who coach Darrin Borthwick said has been working with the team so much in the past fortnight she’s calling herself ‘assistant coach’, Saunders is grateful for the input.
“Mima and I have a great connection," she said. "She is my go-to if I have any questions because she has a plethora of knowledge and experience.
“I draw from that a lot and it sucks she’s not out there with us, but her presence is around us.”
Holyman adds: “Our motivation in the middle right now is that we don’t have our Mimes, our captain, with us.
“We want to make her proud. We have both learned so much from her – run hard, tackle hard and don’t stop working.”
Saunders arrived from the Sharks in 2022 joining former Bronco in Holyman in the front row.
“We just want to do our part for the team,” Holyman said.
“We both know the game is getting quicker so we’ve worked on our fitness because we know our job is to go forward.
Holyman finishes the Knights
“If the Raiders need a carry we’re among the first to put our hands up. We don’t look at the run metres we do – we just do our job so the backs can do theirs.”
Having conceded just 57 points across the past five matches, the Raiders are cranking up their defence at the right end of the season.
“We do pride ourselves on our green wall,” Saunders said.
“Our defensive efforts we’re very proud of and something we work on each and every week.
“Obviously there’s defensive areas we can always improve on but from round one we’ve had one objective and that’s to have that green wall up at all times.”
