CANBERRA RAIDERS 28 BULLDOGS 22
1. After a breakout debut season in 2018, Lachlan Lewis could be relegated to the lower grades to begin the year. In a strong indication of his Round 1 team, Dean Pay opted to start Newcastle recruit Jack Cogger in the halves alongside Kieran Foran, with Lewis coming on late in the trial. Cogger and Foran combined well in their first official hit out together in promising signs for an attacking unit that’s struggled in recent years.
2. Highly regarded rookie Corey Horsburgh continues to impress at every opportunity and is in serious contention to jag a debut off the bench in Canberra’s season opener. The 21-year-old front-rower possesses a crafty offload and strong work ethic and can provide size in the pack following the departures of Shannon Boyd and Junior Paulo.
3. There are few greater sights in rugby league than front-rowers in the clear. The Bega crowd were treated to just that, with Bulldogs prop Aiden Tolman finding himself in open space with only Raiders fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad to beat to bag a rare pre-season meat pie. Tolman was put through a huge hole by Will Hopoate, ran 20m, trampled the Raiders number one and planted it down for a four-pointer. The supremely consistent Tolman is a key figure for Canterbury this season, with the pack’s go-forward a concern due to David Klemmer’s departure. Dylan Napa is a quality replacement, but the former Rooster is primarily an enforcer rather than a metre-eater.
— Tim Williams