Raiders seek minor premiership form against injury-hit Knights

On a Sunday afternoon in Canberra, the NRL's ladder leaders faced a wounded opponent — not as a test of survival, but as an examination of character. The Raiders, sitting atop the competition yet unconvincing in recent weeks, needed more than a victory against an injury-ravaged Newcastle side; they needed the kind of performance that separates true contenders from fortunate ones. Across town in Sydney, a second match quietly carried its own gravity, reuniting Canterbury and Manly three decades after they last met in a grand final — a reminder that in sport, history has a way of circling back.