Eels wary of Raiders' 'Leipana' in NRL

The NRL clash between Parramatta and Canberra will be highlighted by the backline battle between the Eels' right edge and Canberra's lethal left.

What happens when an unstoppable force meets and unstoppable force?

It's a question worth pondering as Canberra's rampaging right edge gets set to meet Parramatta's lethal left side on Saturday night.

The NRL clash at GIO Stadium will be highlighted by the outside-backs battle between Raiders duo Joey Leilua and Jordan Rapana and the Eels star pairing of Michael Jennings and Semi Radradra.

It's a match up that has Eels coach Brad Arthur salivating and pondering how to quell the influence of "Leipana".

"You need to try to dictate where you give them the ball, our kick chase is going to have to be good," Arthur said.

"If you give them too much footy, you're going to pay the price.

"We're very happy with our left edge, Michael Jennings is a very good defensive centre. That's his biggest asset and he's going to have a very big job on his hands."

Despite Ricky Stuart's side winning just once this season, Rapana and Leilua have picked up where they left off last year as arguably the most potent attacking combination in the NRL.

According to Fox Sports Stats, combined they have scored six tries, produced three try assists, six linebreaks and 37 tackle busts - with winger Rapana averaging 162 metres and centre Leilua 92 metres.

Radradra, supposedly, comes in to the game in a drought after failing to score in his last two outings - a rarity during a career that has included 64 tries in 72 games.

However, he still enters the clash equal second on the league's top try scorer list - with all four of his tries coming in round two against St George Illawarra - and equal first for linebreaks (six).

"Off the back of four tries in one game, it is a bit of a drought," Arthur said of Radrara.

"If we don't hold the ball, it's very hard for him to score.

"Last week against the Sharks he went looking for the ball but we didn't have it the terms we'd like to be giving it to him."


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Source: AAP


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