The high-flying Green Machine have made it 10 from 11 at GIO Stadium this season after beating Wests Tigers 24-10.
Next up Manly look to keep their faint finals flame flickering with a win over the Dragons.
Then it’s off to Townsville for the latest instalment in the Cowboys-Broncos rivalry that has delivered so many epic contests over the years.
The Warriors’ loss on Friday night means the Broncos can jump into the top four with a victory.
The Sea Eagles looked ominous in their dismantling of the Dolphins in Round 25 but the Roosters’ stunning victory over the Storm on Friday night leaves Manly four points out of the top eight and well behind on for-and-against.
Follow all the Round 26 action on NRL.com’s live blog.
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The 2025 Telstra NRL Minor Premiers
Dragons v Sea Eagles at Jubilee Stadium
43 min: A blow for the Sea Eagles with prop Toafofoa Sipley sent to the sinbin for a cannonball tackle on David Klemmer.
Halftime summary
The Sea Eagles need to win big to keep their finals hopes alive and their big name stars Tom Trbojevic and Daly Cherry-Evans have stepped up to give their team every chance in a dominant first half. Manly have scored four tries but it could have been six and the mood that Trbojevic is in suggests they will go on with the job. Not only do the Sea Eagles have to win, they need to win by as big a margin as possible and then repeat the effort against the Warriors next week, while hoping the Roosters lose to South Sydney. A lot needs to go Manly’s way but they are giving themselves every chance.
40 min: Schoupp has scored on the stroke of halftime after Trbojevic broke into the clear and passed to Cherry-Evans, who found the former Bulldog and Titan in support. Cherry-Evans missed the conversion. Sea Eagles 22 Dragons 6.
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Aaron Schoupp Try
33 min: The Dragons had another reprieve after the Bunker ruled that Saab did not have sufficient downward pressure when he attempted to ground a loose ball in the in-goal.
29 min: Dragons junior Aaron Schoupp has come on to replace Koula after the star centre came from the field with a knee injury.
26 min: Only a desperate tackle by Buchanan has prevented the Sea Eagles from scoring another try after Tom Trbojevic was ruled to have been stopped just short of the line.Â
23 min: Sea Eagles winger Jason Saab would be one of the few players who could give Koula a run for his money in a sprint race and Cherry-Evans unleased him with a flick pass before backing up to score. Sea Eagles 18 Dragons 6.
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Daly Cherry-Evans Try
21 min: Tongan speedster Tolutau Koula, who is arguably the fastest player in the NRL, put Manly ahead with a 70 metre try after beating Hayden Buchanan and swerving around Clint Gutherson. Sea Eagles 12 Dragons 6.
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Tolutau Koula Try
11 min: The Dragons have hit back through rookie five-eighth Lyhkan King-Togia, who handled three times in a 60-metre movement before scoring himself. Kyle Flanagan converted. Dragons 6 Sea Eagles 6.
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Lyhkan King-Togia Try
5 min: The Sea Eagles need a big win to keep their slim finals hopes alive and Corey Waddell started the bid for points when he sliced through the defence off an inside ball from Daly Cherry-Evans to open the scoring. Cherry-Evans converted. Sea Eagles 6 Dragons 0.Â
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Corey Waddell Try
Late Mail
Dragons:Â Jaydn Su’A (knee), Jack de Belin (concussion) and Hame Sele (concussion) are all on track to return for the Dragons in a major boost for Shane Flanagan’s side. Tyrell Sloan is also set to come back into the starting team, with Corey Allan dropping to 18th man.
Sea Eagles:Â Young gun Joey Walsh has been named 18th man for the second-straight week with coach Anthony Seibold suggesting he is unlikely to get a crack this season. “He is close to making his debut but we have to consider we are still in contention for the top eight so we wanted to have continuity this week but he’s not far away,” Seibold said. No changes for Manly when the teams were finalised 60 minutes before kick off.
Raiders v Wests Tigers at GIO Stadium
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Raiders v Wests Tigers – Round 26, 2025
Raiders win minor premiership
The Canberra Raiders are officially the 2025 minor premiers after securing first place with a 24-10 defeat of Wests Tigers before a capacity GIO Stadium crowd. The Raiders won their first minor premiership since 1990 after winning 19 of their 23 matches so far, starting with a stunning win over the Warriors in Las Vegas. Ricky Stuart’s men are now guaranteed two home semi-finals in their quest to bring the premiership trophy to the nation’s capital for the first time in 31 years.
76 min: Ethan Strange has sealed the win and minor premiership after Young offloaded to Tapine and the boom playmaker backed up to score his fifth try in three weeks. Fogarty converted. Raiders 24 Tigers 10.
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Ethan Strange Try
68 min: The game was stopped after a heavy shot by Skelton on Strange left the Tigers winger on the ground and he was taken from the field for a HIA. Strange bounced to his feet and is fine to continue.Â
58 min: Great goal line defence by the Raiders, with Jed Stuart stopping Taylan May on the line and Hudson Young tackling Fonua Pole just short before Samuela Finau lost the ball trying to score.Â
56 min: The Tigers have their best chance of the second half after Raiders fullback Kaeo Weekes fumbled a Luai bomb near his own line.
51 min: The Tigers are just hanging on as the Raiders have had three near chances in as many minutes but the visitors have managed to repel them, while conceding back-to-back goal line drop outs.
48 min: Sisagi has put the Raiders further ahead after Fogarty and Strange combined to create enough space for the versatile youngster to charge over to score. Fogarty converted from the sideline. Raiders 18 Tigers 10.
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Simi Sasagi Try
Halftime Summary
If the Raiders expect to wrap up the minor presentation and be presented the JJ Giltinan Shield in front of a capacity home crowd at GIO Stadium, Wests Tigers have other ideas. The match is evenly poised at halftime, with the Tigers troubling the Raiders with an adventurous attacking style and they will have the strong wind at their backs in the second term. The battle of the halves is likely to have a huge impact on the result, with Jamal Fogarty pegging the Tigers on the back foot with his kicking game and Jarome Luai at his scheming and creative best for the visitors.
38 min: The Tigers have scored a stunning try after the ball went through nine sets of hands, including twice by Luai, whose jinking run across the face of the defence created space for winger Jaral Skelton. Raiders 12 Tigers 10.Â
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Jeral Skelton Try
32 min: Corey Horsburgh has hit back for the Raiders after crashing over for his first try of the season. Fogarty converted. Raiders 12 Tigers 6.
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Corey Horsburgh Try
28 min: Jahream Bula has levelled for Wests Tigers after star playmaker Jarome Luai put secondrower Samuela Fainu into space and the Fijian fullback backed up to score. Api Koroisau converted. Raiders 6 Tigers 6.Â
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Jahream Bula Try
24 min: Fogarty was disallowed a try after Josh Papalii was penalised for obstruction.Â
20 min: Stuart redeemed himself for his early error and penalty after a booming Jamal Fogarty bomb swung away from Turuva and bounced up for the Raiders rookie to score his fifth try in nine matches. Fogarty converted. Raiders 6 Tigers 0.
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Jed Stuart Try
17 min: The Raiders used to the masters of the one-on-one steal but the Tigers have turned the tables on them after Latu Fainu stripped the ball from Simi Sasagi.
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The Tigers steal another one
15 min: The Tigers have won a captain’s challenge after Sunia Turuva was tacked in-goal, forcing a goal line dropout, but the decision was overturned and the visitors awarded a penalty due to a mid-air tackle by Stuart.Â
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Bula saves the 40/20
11 min: Jed Stuart has lost the ball on the first tackle running the ball of his own line.
9min: The Tigers have been on the back foot in the early exchanges, with the Raiders have possession for seven of the first 10 sets, but a one-on-one strip by Starford Toa on Ethan Strange has shifted momentum.Â
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To’a takes it
1 min: Kick off has been delayed as fans pour into GIO Stadium but the teams are on the field now and we are underway.
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What a welcome for the Green Machine
The final word
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Ricky Stuart: ‘We’ve done the work’
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo is reportedly at GIO Stadium to present the JJ Giltinan Shield to the Raiders if they win. Canberra haven’t finished a season as minor premiers since 1990 – also the year of their last grand final triumph.
The match is officially a sell-out in Canberra as Raiders fans hope to see the Green Machine seal the minor premiership following the Storm’s loss to the Roosters last night.
The Raiders suffered a blow last weekend when Xavier Savage was ruled out for the season but it saved Ricky Stuart a massive selection headache as Savelio Tamale is back and he was in sensational form before being injured.
With the NRLW match at GIO Stadium just finishing after the Raiders snatched a 17-16 golden point win against Wests Tigers, the teams are now on the field for their warm-up. Â
Late Mail
Raiders:Â Simi Sasagi has come into the centres an hour before kick-off with Seb Kris dropping out. Noah Martin is the new man on the bench. Savelio Tamale returns from a dislocated kneecap and will replace Xavier Savage on the wing. Savage’s season is over after he fractured his shoulder in last week’s dramatic win over Penrith. Matty Nicholson will have to wait another week for his NRL return after coming back from injury in NSW Cup last week. Danny Levi is 18th man.
Wests Tigers:Â The Tigers are 1-17 with no late changes. Starford To’a returns to the field after he was a late withdrawal last week with a shoulder injury. Adam Doueihi has been ruled out with a facial fracture, which will see Latu Fainu start at halfback and Heath Mason join the bench. Tristan Hope is 18th man.
Numbers Game
The Raiders have won nine of their past 10 games against Wests Tigers.
Wests Tigers have not won at GIO Stadium since 2018.
The Raiders have won nine from 10 at GIO Stadium this season.
Wests Tigers centre Taylan May has scored four tries in his last four games.
Raiders prop Josh Papalii will play his 150th game at GIO Stadium.
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Cowboys v Broncos at Queensland Country Bank Stadium