The Canberra Raiders' complete 2023 NRL draw revealed

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart says his Green Machine are a top-four side and he's been given the perfect opportunity to launch a 2023 bid to show they're exactly that. They'll only play one top-eight team twice and that's the Cronulla Sharks - a team they beat both times they played them during their 2022 NRL campaign. But they'll have to wait to find out the draw of their inaugural NRLW campaign, with the NRL delaying the release of next year's fixture. Some key elements of the Raiders draw are: Raiders fans will be licking their lips at the NRL draw released on Thursday as they look to build on last year's progression to the second round of the finals. They face NRL new boys Redcliffe Dolphins and bottom-eight battlers Newcastle, Brisbane, St George Illawarra, Canterbury, Wests Tigers and New Zealand Warriors both home and away. As revealed by The Canberra Times, the Raiders face the Dolphins away in round two - giving them an early look at the newest homeground in the NRL and pitting Stuart against his old rival and Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett again. It's part of an early stint in Queensland, where they'll not only play their opening two games in the Banana State - facing the North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville in round one - but three of their opening six games, with the third against the Broncos at Lang Park. Raiders fans have to wait until round three to see the Green Machine at home for the first time in 2023 - against the Sharks at Canberra Stadium on Sunday, March 19. The Green Machine will travel to Wagga Wagga to host the Dolphins in round nine on Saturday, April 29, for the final year of their current deal with the Riverina city's council. Stuart's men also have some nicely placed byes - their first coming in round eight, then round 16 and 20 help freshen up their run home to the finals. The Raiders will open up next year's Magic Round in Brisbane - facing the Bulldogs in the Friday 6pm timeslot to begin the festival of the boot. They've also kept the eight free-to-air games they had this year - although most of those come in the second half of the campaign and they're largely absent from Channel Nine during the first half. MORE CANBERRA SPORT There was a thought the FIFA Women's World Cup being hosted in Australia and New Zealand next year might force the Raiders to host more games during the winter freeze, but they only have six during that period - with only two of those night games. One of those is against the Broncos. A nice welcome back to Canberra for Brisbane coach Kevin Walters. The only negative for the Green Machine was they asked for home games against big drawing clubs South Sydney and Parramatta, but they only get to host the latter. They'll only play the Rabbitohs once - at Stadium Australia on Saturday, May 27. Canberra will finish their home-and-away season as they started it - on the road - travelling to Cronulla to face the Sharks, with the Eels getting the plum bye in round 27. But they'll also have to wait to find out exactly where they'll play their pre-season trial on the NSW South Coast as the club finalises exactly where that game against the Bulldogs would be. Canberra have played trials at Bega in recent years. February 12: Raiders v Bulldogs at South Coast, 3.55pm February 19: Tigers v Raiders at Belmore, 2.55pm Round 1, Saturday, March 4: Cowboys v Raiders at Townsville, 5.30pm Round 2, Saturday, March 11: Dolphins v Raiders at Redcliffe, 5.30pm Round 3, Sunday, March 19: Raiders v Sharks at Canberra, 6.15pm Round 4, Sunday, March 26: Knights v Raiders at Newcastle, 4.05pm Round 5, Friday, March 31: Raiders v Panthers at Canberra, 6pm Round 6, Saturday, April 8: Broncos v Raiders at Brisbane, 7.35pm Round 7, Sunday, April 16: Raiders v Dragons at Canberra, 2pm Round 8: bye Round 9, Saturday, April 29: Raiders v Dolphins at Wagga, 3pm Round 10, Friday, May 5: Bulldogs v Raiders at Brisbane, 6pm Round 11, Saturday, May 13: Raiders v Eels at Canberra, 7.35pm Round 12, Sunday, May 21: Raiders v Sea Eagles at Canberra, 4.05pm Round 13, Saturday, May 27: Rabbitohs v Raiders at Homebush, 7.35pm Round 14, Friday, June 2: Wests Tigers v Raiders at Campbelltown, 8pm Round 15, Friday, June 9: Raiders v Warriors at Canberra, 6pm Round 16: bye Round 17, Sunday, June 25: Roosters v Raiders at Moore Park, 6.15pm Round 18, Saturday, July 1: Raiders v Titans at Canberra, 3pm Round 19, Friday, July 7: Dragons v Raiders at Wollongong, 8pm Round 20: bye Round 21, Friday, July 21: Warriors v Raiders at Auckland, 6pm Round 22, Saturday, July 29: Raiders v Knights at Canberra, 3pm Round 23, Sunday, August 6: Raiders v Tigers at Canberra, 4.05pm Round 24, Sunday, August 13: Storm v Raiders at Melbourne, 2pm Round 25, Sunday, August 20: Raiders v Bulldogs at Canberra, 4.05pm Round 26, Saturday, August 26: Raiders v Broncos at Canberra, 7.35pm Round 27, Sunday, September 3: Sharks v Raiders at Cronulla, 4.05pm We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. 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