Canberra Raiders v Cronulla Sharks: NRL Thursday Preview

Canberra Raiders will be out to respond from two defeats on the bounce when they entertain Cronulla Sharks on Thursday night.

The Raiders started the 2025 NRL campaign in fine style with two wins, but have been stopped in their tracks following defeats to the Sea Eagles and Cowboys.

Ricky Stuart’s men need to stop the rot and will be desperate for the two points in the nation’s capital.

The Sharks will also be thinking the same as they look to bounce back from a defeat at the weekend.

They went down on home soil against the Bulldogs and cannot afford another slip up at GIO Stadium.

Canberra Raiders v Cronulla Sharks betting preview

Raiders look to respond

The Raiders proved the doubters wrong in the opening couple of games when seeing off the Warriors and Broncos in convincing fashion.

However they have seen their form dip in the last two games. The Sea Eagles romped to a 40-12 win, before the Cowboys beat them 30-12.

The green machine will now be delighted to be back on home soil, where they hope to return to winning ways.

Both their victories have been at GIO Stadium, and they will be hoping it turns out to be a fortress once again.

They can be backed at 3.75 to win the game by 1-12 points, or 6.00 to win by 13+ points.

Canberra have lost the last two games against the Sharks, but there is nothing in the overall head-to-heads, with the Raiders winning 25 of the 51 meetings.

Sharks left licking wounds

The Sharks suffered a big setback in Round 4 when losing 20-6 against the Bulldogs at Shark Park.

After big wins over the Cowboys and Rabbitohs, the Sharks looked to have recovered from the loss to the Panthers in Las Vegas.

The loss at the weekend will have hit them hard and head coach Craig Fitzgibbon will be demanding a response.

They did win 40-0 in the corresponding fixture in 2024, with Nicho Hynes scoring a try and kicking six out of seven conversion attempts.

The playmaker was off the boil at the weekend, and Cronulla will need him back to his best on Thursday night.

Cronulla would take any kind of win and they are priced at 3.40 to win by 1-12 points and 2.65 to run riot and win by 13+.

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Canberra Raiders v Cronulla Sharks odds

Canberra Raiders - 2.50
Cronulla Sharks - 1.54

View the full market and more odds for Canberra Raiders v Cronulla Sharks on site.

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.