The 2022 NRL season has been a grind for Canberra Raiders and as niggly as their 4-6 campaign has been so far, the steady mahi of Matthew Timoko is a funky Kiwi-NRL wrinkle. Timoko played his role in an improved Raiders performance on Sunday as they defeated Cronulla Sharks with Timoko enjoying his battle with the trendiest NRL centre right now Siosifa Talakai.

Talakai was typically robust but Timoko registered just 1 missed tackle as Raiders halfback Brad Schneider was the primary target for Talakai. Timoko finished with 12 runs for 89m @ 7.41m/run, along with 3 tackle busts and 13 tackles @ 92.82 percent in another solid display at right centre.

Timoko has now played all 10 games this season as starting centre and that takes him past his nine game tally from last year. While Timoko's tackling efficiency has improved slightly, the Raiders have struggled to contain teams this season. Timoko will continue to settle into his defensive mahi against the best centres in the league and as Raiders flow through their season, better defensive combinations will be formed alongside his right edge partners.

As a junior in Auckland, Timoko apparently played for Otahuhu, Ellerslie, Mt Wellington and Mt Albert. Timoko's NRL profile lists Ellerslie as his junior club and while he juggled representative league stuff with 1st 15 footy for Auckland Grammar School, Timoko showcased his power and footwork. Timoko was among the best 1st 15 players in Aotearoa and made an Auckland Blues Under 18 camp alongside Christian Tuipulotu (Sea Eagles) and Junior Ratuva (Warriors).

Timoko's dynamic running game is now on display every week for Raiders in the NRL. Timoko has had tackle busts in all but one game this season, with 3+ tackle busts in six of his 10 games. Timoko made his Kiwi-NRL debut in 2020 and entered the NRL averaging 100m/game (two games), now averaging 100+ metres per game for his third consecutive season. Timoko may not be catching the Talakai type of buzz, however my Kiwi-NRL bias loves Timoko's low key powerful running.

Defence is always a work-on for young centres and Timoko has room for growth in his distribution as well. While Timoko has grabbed 3 tries this season, he has just 1 try assist after 2 try assists last season in a similar amount of games. Timoko has 7 offloads in 10 games so far this season but hasn't registered an offload in his last four games, two of which are wins. Not every player has the finesse of Joey Manu at centre, yet this is low-hanging fruit for Timoko's development. Raiders consistency will help along with more game time for the Schneider/Timoko combo.

Timoko's power saw him command selection on the bench and he is now a starting centre for Raiders. Thanks to solid defensive mahi, plus nimble power that saw him shine in Auckland and then resulted in Raiders recruitment, Timoko is now stacking up NRL games in an improving Kiwi-NRL Raiders outfit.

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