Raiders look to keep winning formula

The Canberra Raiders have named a relatively unchanged line-up for the match against the Storm on Saturday at AAMI Park, with the inclusion of State of Origin star and Raiders Captain David Shillington the only change to the team which beat the Dragons on Monday night.

New recruit Sandor Earl retains his place in the Raiders team on the wing, while Mark Nicholls has been named 18th man.

Joel Thompson made it through the match on Monday night after he went into the encounter with a hand injury, but he is expected to back up and be available for the match against Melbourne.

The main injury concern for Canberra is Sam Mataora who only played limited minutes against the Dragons due to a back injury. He’ll be assessed later in the week.

Blake Ferguson has taken the early guilty plea on a grade one dangerous contact charge and he will be free to play against the Storm.

Raiders Coach David Furner said the team’s improvement this week had been encouraging and said he was looking for the same intensity this weekend.

“I thought across the park from 1-17 they all put their hands up,” said Furner. “We had three guys that had a lot of strapping around the head which goes to show you that they put their bodies on the line and that’s what we needed to do to get the win.

“What we need to do now is keep working hard and playing for each other and improve each week.”

Canberra Raiders: 1 Reece Robinson, 2 Sandor Earl, 3 Jarrod Croker, 4 Blake Ferguson, 5 Edrick Lee, 6 Josh McCrone, 7 Sam Williams, 8 David Shillington (c), 9 Travis Waddell, 10 Dane Tilse, 11 Josh Papalii, 12 Joel Thompson, 13 Shaun Fensom. Interchange: 14 Matt McIlwrick, 15 Joe Picker, 16 Sam Mataora, 17 Tom Learoyd-Lahrs, 18 Mark Nicholls.

NRL Season 2012 - Round 18:

Melbourne Storm vs Canberra Raiders
Saturday night, July 7 @ AAMI Park, Melbourne
Kick-off: 5:30pm (AEST).

Live coverage is available on Fox Sports Two. Check local guides for more information.

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