In his second season as a certified starter at centre for Canberra Raiders, Matthew Timoko leads his team for tackle busts and is basking in career-best mahi. This is the third Kiwi-NRL Spotlight for the Otahuhu junior and while he didn't quite crack the Aotearoa Kiwis squad for their World Cup campaign, Timoko's development will likely result in a Kiwis squad call up this year.

The first Kiwi-NRL Spotlight for Timoko last year highlighted a slow start for Raiders. This is a useful nugget to gauge Timoko's mahi and also offers optimism for Raiders as they were in a similar position last season, before cracking finals footy with Timoko flashing his talent in big games.

This time last season, Raiders were 15th with a 2-5 record before finishing 8th with a 14-10 record. Raiders are currently 14th with a 3-4 record and they are likely to improve on that record as the season rolls along. Especially with a hearty crop of Kiwi-NRL talent; Timoko, Joseph Tapine, Sebastian Kris and Corey Harawira-Naera.

Timoko is 14th for tackle busts, sitting on 29 and Kris is the next best Raider on 25 tackle busts (19th). Timoko sits behind Valentine Holmes and Dane Gagai as centres with more tackle busts while Phillip Sami is also ahead of Timoko having played centre this season.

All those tackle busts have helped Timoko go from 109m/game last year, to 151m/game this season. Timoko averaged between 100-111m per game in his first three seasons before this blowing this beyond 150m. Timoko is ranked 22nd for total run metres, only behind Kris (5th) as the leading runners for Raiders.

This attacking development stems from a more touches for Timoko. In 2021 Timoko averaged 11.77 touches per game, then he averaged 11.92 touches last season and this season he has jumped up to 15.28 touches per game. Per StatsInsider, Raiders scored 26% percent of their tries down Timoko's right edge last season which now sits at 32%. That's aligned with more touches and oomph from Timoko.

41% of the tries Raiders conceded came down their right edge last season and this has increased to 47% this year. Like last season, Raiders have a losing record after seven games and that usually features mediocre defence. Timoko has improved his tackling efficiency, jumping up from 87.94% last season to 92.45% this season.

Meanwhile, Raiders have Elliott Whitehead and Hudson Young in the top-five for missed tackles. Raiders are the only team with two players in the top-five, while Eels are the only other team with two players in the top-10 (J'maine Hopgood, Josh Hodgson). Whitehead has predominantly played right edge alongside Timoko, although Harawira-Naera has also played that role and he is 36th for missed tackles.

Raiders improvements will feature better defence. How Timoko develops defensive combinations with Whitehead, Jamal Fogarty and Albert Hopoate/Jordan Rapana will be crucial moving forward. Timoko's tackling stacks up pretty well against other centres such as Holmes and Gagai (who both average more metres than Timoko), plus his opposition centre from the weekend in Zac Lomax...

• Matthew Timoko: 92.45%

• Dane Gagai: 87.1%

• Zac Lomax: 81.19%

• Valentine Holmes: 80.4%

Fresh off the win over Dragons, Timoko compares well to Lomax...

• Matthew Timoko: 107 touches, 2 tries, 2 try assists, 29 tb, 151m

• Zac Lomax: 108 touches, 2 tries, 2 try assists, 9 tb, 128m

The young centre who also spent time with Ellerslie and Mt Albert is tapping into potential that saw him shine at all levels prior to NRL. Given how Raiders improved throughout last season, it will be interesting to see whether that happens again and what role Timoko will play in that. Timoko has already made a hefty development leap, so any further improvements would be rather bonkers.

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