Canberra will play the first NRLW semifinal in its history when it meets Wests Tigers in a sudden-death match at Campbelltown. The Raiders finished fifth with a 6-5 record, but their results have made them one of the competition’s most difficult teams to assess, according to ABC News Australia.
Canberra has performed strongly against other leading sides. Its 28-4 win over Brisbane was the Broncos’ biggest NRLW defeat, while the Raiders lost to Gold Coast and the unbeaten Sydney Roosters by a combined 10 points. Those close contests have left Canberra believing it can challenge the competition’s strongest teams in a rematch.
The Raiders have also lost to Parramatta, North Queensland and Cronulla, results that cost them the chance to host a final. Captain Zahara Temara acknowledged the inconsistency, saying Canberra had raised its effort against prominent opponents but had matched the intensity of some lower-ranked teams rather than imposing itself.
Temara’s experience will be especially important with co-captain Simaima Taufa unavailable through suspension. Temara, 29, has played in three grand finals and won a premiership with the Roosters in 2022. She told ABC News Australia she wanted her teammates to appreciate the rarity of reaching the finals and avoid having regrets about their effort.
The Tigers present a contrasting record. They defeated every team that missed the finals but went 1-4 against play-off opponents, with their only win in that group coming by one point against Newcastle. The joint venture is also appearing in its first finals match, after winning as many games this season as in the rest of its NRLW history combined.
The semifinal is a rematch of the teams’ meeting at Leichhardt seven days earlier, when Canberra won 22-10. ABC News Australia reported that Mackenzie Wiki and Leianne Tufuga were influential for the Raiders, but Temara said the Tigers continued to fight despite trailing and remained a danger in a finals setting.