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Why Panthers test will prove Raiders are ready for finals
Nicholas Quinlan • August 22nd, 2025 2:00 pm
The Canberra Raiders are looking to remove all doubts surrounding their premiership credentials when they play the Penrith Panthers on Friday night.
Entering this season, the Raiders were expected to be towards the bottom of the ladder as they had the youngest list in the competition with an average age of 24.7 after losing the experience of Elliott Whitehead, Nick Cotric and Jordan Rapana from the side.
But despite early pre-season predictions, the Raiders have been within the top four since Round 6 and now sit in first place with their young brigade of Ethan Strange, Xavier Savage and Kaeo Weekes leading the way.
By having a young list, doubts have crept up towards the back of the season as to whether they have what it takes to succeed in finals, given a lack of experience.
With that in mind, the mood within the club, according to David Riccio in the lead-up, is one of positivity as they look to see where they stack up against a finals-contending team in the Panthers, who are likely to have captain Isaah Yeo return to the line-up.
“Speaking to Canberra yesterday, they openly declared (that) we prefer that Isaah plays,” he stated on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“That’s an indication of where the Raiders’ mentality is at. They are ready for this; they want this clash, they want to see where they stand.
“Because, as we know guys, there is still an element of ifs and maybes with the Raiders.
“Do their rookie players, do their least inexperience players have the know-how and the elite mentality to win big games when it matters, and this one’s no bigger.
“So, there is a real sense of let’s take on the Panthers at the best to see where we are at.”
While the Panthers will likely make the one change to bring Yeo back in, the Raiders will be coming into this match with an unchanged side from their match against Manly.
This match will be played at Glen Willow Oval in Mudgee with SEN having live commentary available on SEN’s radio network and the SEN app from 5pm AEST.
Kick off will take place at 6pm.
