NRL: The Canberra Raiders' right edge has massive job to do to stop Newcastle Knights

Not in a dirty way, but not in a nice way either.

On the flipside, the Raiders' right edge knows they've got a massive task in trying to stop the Newcastle Knights talisman.

The Knights fullback has been a thorn in the Green Machine's side since his move to Newcastle - scoring four tries and setting up another nine in his seven games against them, resulting in five wins.

He's also averaged 162 run metres and six tackle busts per game when he's been at fullback against Canberra.

Ponga almost single-handedly led the Knights to victory at Canberra Stadium when the two teams met in round 22.

Now they're looking to stop him from doing the same in the elimination final at Newcastle on Sunday, with the loser bowing out of the NRL finals race.

The winner will go on to face the loser between the Penrith Panthers and New Zealand Warriors on Saturday.

Raiders co-captain Elliott Whitehead knew the job that was ahead of him and the rest of the Raiders on the right - Ponga prefers to link up with the Knights' left in attack.

That meant Whitehead, Jamal Fogarty, Matt Timoko and Nick Cotric all need to be on high alert whenever Ponga comes their way.

Ponga started the 2023 season slowly - and playing at five-eighth - but a return to fullback and the decision to rest himself from State of Origin to get back to full fitness has seen him return to his blistering best.

Whitehead, whose nickname is "Smell", said they'd done a lot of work on trying to nullify Newcastle's Ponga.

"He's an outstanding player and what he's done this year has probably shown why he's one of the best in the league," he said.

"My side [of the field] has got a big job in keeping him quiet. We've done a lot of video on him this week and hopefully we can do that."

Wearing a big pad on his right shoulder at training this week - like a beacon in the night - Ponga was expecting to get plenty of attention.

He missed last week's win over St George Illawarra due to an AC-joint injury and he'll need pain-killing injections to allow him to play this week.

Jordan Rapana was happy to confirm for Ponga exactly what was coming his way on Sunday.

The Raiders fullback said their kick-chase needed to be at its best to ensure Ponga didn't have the room to move he's so good at exploiting.

It's something he felt the Green Machine had done well in their loss to Cronulla last weekend. Now they need to repeat that against the Knights.

"He's on fire at the moment. But at the same time he's also coming off an injury and he's a bit busted," Rapana said.

"We've just got to make sure our kick chase is on, first and foremost.

"If we're kicking like we were on the weekend - getting it down and keeping them in their half.

"We've got to make sure we're right up there in one line and - not being dirty - but making sure we're getting into him and letting him know we're coming for him all game."

Ponga took less than two minutes to make a linebreak against the Raiders when the teams met six weeks ago, with then Canberra fullback Sebastian Kris needing to make a one-on-one, try-saving tackle to stop him from scoring.

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Five minutes later Ponga had scored anyway.

Rapana's since made the move into the No.1 jersey, but he was hopeful he wouldn't need to make any last-ditch tackles.

"Hopefully not. The only reason Seb had to make that tackle was because we weren't connected and gave him a chance to make that linebreak," he said.

"I know we've learnt from that. If our kick chase was like it was on the weekend - we can't give him any room to move.

"I believe the boys will do a good job and hopefully there's no linebreaks so I won't have to make any tackles."

NRL ELIMINATION FINAL

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Newcastle Knights at Newcastle, 4.05pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Jordan Rapana, 2. James Schiller, 3. Jack Wighton, 4. Matt Timoko, 5. Nick Cotric, 6. Matt Frawley, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Ata Mariota, 9. Zac Woolford, 10. Joe Tapine, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead (c), 13. Hohepa Puru. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Pasami Saulo, 17. Trey Mooney. Reserves: 18. Jarrod Croker (c), 19. Albert Hopoate, 20. Danny Levi, 21. Ethan Strange, 22. Xavier Savage.

Knights squad: 1. Kalyn Ponga (c), 2. Dominic Young, 3. Dane Gagai, 4. Bradman Best, 5. Greg Marzhew, 6. Tyson Gamble, 7. Jackson Hastings, 8. Jacob Saifiti, 9. Phoenix Crossland, 10. Leo Thompson, 11. Tyson Frizell (c), 12. Lachlan Fitzgibbon, 13. Adam Elliott. Interchange: 14. Kurt Mann, 15. Daniel Saifiti, 16. Jack Hetherington, 17. Mat Croker. Reserves: 18. Adam Clune, 19. Lachlan Miller, 20. Dylan Lucas, 21. Enari Tuala, 22. Brodie Jones.

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