Canberra Raiders vs Dolphins NRL Round 12 Tips - Dolphins away game no good

Jeremy Darke

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Last updated: Tue 19 May 2026 13:41

Jeremy Darke 19 May 2026

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Raiders strongly favoured to win at home due to better squad depth.
Dolphins weakened by injuries and key Origin player absences.
Expect a low-scoring game (under 50.5 points); Raiders’ speedsters tipped to shine.
Kick off is at 7:50 PM (AEST) on Thursday, 21st May at GIO Stadium

Canberra Raiders vs Dolphins NRL Round 12 Tips

Canberra Raiders vs Dolphins, Round 12 2026 - Expert Prediction

The Raiders will get the better of this Origin affected match, with the home side predicted to get a victory in a grinding affair at GIO Stadium, as they Dolphins slump to another loss outside of Brisbane.

Canberra Raiders vs Dolphins, Round 12 2026 - Expert Prediction
Head to Head
Canberra Raiders Form Analysis
Dolphins Form Analysis
Canberra Raiders vs Dolphins Team List & Team News
Canberra Raiders vs Dolphins NRL 2026 Round 12 FAQ’s

Both sides are heavily lamed by Origin selections and injuries, however, the biggest losses for me are on the Dolphins side of the field, especially through the middle with Thomas Flegler and Max Plath on QLD duty.

The strength of the Dolphins on their 3-0 run over the last few weeks has been built around the strength and speed of their middle men and losing their two best is going to leave some holes, especially if they fall on the wrong side of the momentum battle.

The Raiders are also missing their edges, however the middle is still strong and with Big Red Corey Horsborough a little disappointed about missing Origin selection, the Dolphins will have their hands full.

With both teams reshuffling in their halves I can see points will be at a bit of premium with ball movement expected to be a little sloppy at times in Canberra on Friday night. I am leaning to under 50.5 due to that, plus a strong run of unders of Friday’s for Canberra.

With chemistry in the defensive line with all of the outs Xavier Savage and Kaeo Weekes will be as dangerous as ever for the Raiders so expect the speedsters to break through and open things up from their own end during the match.

Just one of the Dolphins 5 victories have come outside of Suncorp Stadium in 2026.
7 of 10 Raiders matches have gone under the game total.
Eight of their last 9 Canberra Thursday night matches have gone under the game total.
Kaeo Weekes has 5 tries in his last 5 matches.

Head to Head

The Dolphins put up 62 points on the Raiders in Round 27 last season, making up for their 40-28 loss in Round 8 earlier in the year.

The two matches prior to 2025 both went to golden point with Canberra winning both. The head to head tally is at 3-2 to the Raiders.

The last 4 matches have gone over the game total.

Canberra Raiders Form Analysis

Canberra enjoyed Magic Round from the stands after a 30-18 loss to the Penrith Panthers in Round 10. The loss to Penrith was their second in three games after losing to the Tigers 33-14 with a standard victory over the Gold Coast in the middle. Over a five game stretch, Canberra are 3-2 after losing 4 straight prior.

The Raiders haven’t really hit the mark like they did in 2025, unable to keep themselves in matches for a full 80 minutes like they did last season, where they were able to snatch a few close ones.

Ethan Strange and Ethan Sanders have been improving, however, they do not have not been able to unlock their outside backs as well as they would of liked, ranked 12 in the NRL with 49 line breaks on the season and 10th in the league with an average of 1,693 run metres per game.

Dolphins Form Analysis

The Origin period couldn’t really come at a worse time for the Dolphins who have been building strongly over the last few weeks with big wins over Melbourne (18 points), Canterbury (32 points) and another impressive performance against South Sydney at Magic Round (22 points).

Their three victories broke a four game slump and Kristian Wolf has been able to unlock the electric attack while also keeping the defensive line intact. The Dolphins have scored an average of 34.66 points in their last 3 victories while allowing their opponents to score just 2 tries in each of their last 3.

The return of Jack Bostock has definitely given the Dolphins attack depth on both sides of the field with their 2-5 some of the best in the business and all contributing on the scoresheet on a weekly basis.

Canberra Raiders vs Dolphins Team List & Team News

Team News and Lists are in our dedicated Round 12 Team List Article.

Canberra Raiders vs Dolphins NRL 2026 Round 12 FAQ’s

How to livestream Canberra Raiders vs Dolphins NRL 2026 Round 12?

You can livestream the Canberra Raiders vs Dolphins NRL 2026 Round 12 game via Fox Sports or Kayo Sports. If you are watching from outside of Australia the WatchNRL app is the perfect solution.

How to buy tickets to Canberra Raiders vs Dolphins NRL 2026 Round 12?

To buy tickets to the Canberra Raiders vs Dolphins NRL 2026 Round 12 game check the NRL website or the official Canberra Raiders site.

Verdict

Canberra Raiders v Dolphins

Kaeo Weekes will score for the Raiders as they get the victory at home in a match that sees less than 50.5 points. Corey Horsborough is a roughy for a meat pie.