sport, raiders, canberra raiders, raiders, nrl, nrl judiciary, match review committee, jordan rapana, joe tapine

The Canberra Raiders have been given three big boosts for the historic preliminary final. Raiders lock Joe Tapine, winger Jordan Rapana and centre Nick Cotric all should be available for the first ever grand final qualifier at Canberra Stadium, which will be on Friday week. Tapine will take the early guilty plea for his dangerous contact charge on Melbourne Storm utility Brandon Smith. His chicken wing tackle was deemed a grade-one offence, with his record giving him a 20 per cent loading. It means he can play in the prelim - against either South Sydney or Manly - but he'll have 90 carryover points. Like Tapine, Rapana was put on report during the Green Machine's stunning come-from-behind victory over the Storm, their 12-10 victory putting them within one win of their first grand final since 1994 - when they last won the competition. Rapana was put on report for a lifting tackle on Storm five-eighth Cameron Munster, but the match review committee found he had no case to answer. Raiders co-captain Jarrod Croker was always confident the pair of New Zealand internationals would be free to play. "I thought they'd be fine so it's good to see they're all sweet," he said. MORE RAIDERS NEWS Cotric needed stitches in his nose and lip after he copped an accidental Ryan Papenhuyzen boot to the face. The studs of the Storm fullback also left the NSW Blue concussed and he failed his subsequent head injury assessment. The week off will come in handy for Cotric, who will undergo concussion protocols so he can return to training. But it's expected he'll be right for the prelim, giving Raiders coach Ricky Stuart a selection headache due to the form of Bailey Simonsson, who filled in for Cotric on the left wing. "He's alright. He's not in too much pain," Croker said. "He's got a few stitches and it will be quite tender for a bit, but one of those blessings of having the weekend off. "It was probably the head knock more than anything, he was a bit dazed there for a bit. "It was a blessing having Bailey there, worked out quite well in the end." NRL PRELIMINARY FINAL September 27: Canberra Raiders v South Sydney or Manly at Canberra Stadium, 7.50pm.

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