Canberra Raiders vs Wests Tigers Prediction: Raiders to take huge advantage of the bottom side

In round 23 of the National Rugby League, the Canberra Raiders and the Wests Tigers will compete against one another at GIO Stadium in Canberra. Last weekend's encounter for the host team was the second consecutive loss in a row, while the losing streak for the Wests Tigers versus the South Sydney Rabbitohs stretched to eight games.

After suffering two consecutive losses, the Canberra Raiders need to get back to winning ways when they take on the struggling Wests Tigers in the nation's capital on Sunday. The Canberra Raiders' season has been peculiar, to say the least. They got off to a terrible start, losing four of their first five games, but then they went on a tear, winning 10 of their next 12 games. However, throughout the course of this season, they have not been able to decisively defeat any opponent since each of their victories has been decided by a score of 1–12. Now, the Canberra Raiders are coming into this match on the heels of a pair of defeats at the hands of the New Zealand Warriors and Newcastle Knights, the most recent of which was a disheartening loss at home by a score of 28-6. In spite of those losses, the Canberra Raiders are now in a comfortable position in fifth place on the ladder, yet they cannot, under any circumstances, afford to lose this game.

The Wests Tigers are in serious danger of receiving a wooden spoon for the second year in a row if they are unable to make a significant turnaround in their fortunes over the course of the remaining five rounds of the season. To be fair to the Wests Tigers, they haven't been doing too badly as of late. They competed well against a full-strength Rabbitohs team in a loss by a score of 32-18, and the week before that, they only fell short of the Dragons by a score of four points. The Wests Tigers have potential in their spine and a strong front pack, so they should be confident in their ability to match it with an under-pressure Raiders outfit. Luke Brooks and Api Koroisau have both returned to the team, and Jahreem Bula is playing well at fullback. The West Tigers, however, are currently on a losing streak of eight games heading into this matchup.

The fact that neither team is playing at their best leading up to this match ensures that it will be a challenging competition for both of them. However, if the home team plays up to their potential, they should be able to pull off the victory here. The fact that the Wests Tigers have been playing just too poorly recently makes matters much worse for them here; as a result, they should have a difficult time covering the spread.