The Parramatta Eels have survived a late comeback charge by the Canberra Raiders to claim a hard-fought 15-12 victory at CommBank Stadium on Saturday.
The Eels held a 15-0 lead until the 61st-minute, but despite looking comfortable on the field, their opponents were only just getting started.
Kitione Kautoga celebrates scoring a try. Cameron Spencer
Matthew Timoko was the first to strike for the visitors before former Panther Daine Laurie darted over in the 68th minute to narrow the scores to 15-12.
A series of errors by the hosts opened the door for more try-scoring chances for Ricky Stuart’s men, but Parramatta were determined not to let their mistakes become too costly.
“The time is ticking down … what a finish (this will be),” Greg Alexander said in commentary on Fox League with a minute left in the match.
Canberra held on to the ball in the final seconds of the game, but a long ball by Laurie out to Xavier Savage went wrong, flying straight into touch and sealing the result 15-12 in favour of the Eels.
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart reacts after his team’s loss to the Eels. Cameron Spencer
“(Laurie) is absolutely filthy with himself,” Luke Keary said.
“They had a full set in front of them.”
Parramatta snatched their first points of the match in the 12th-minute via Jordan Samrani, who dashed over in the corner from close range.
Five minutes later, Parramatta’s attack was still proving to be an issue for the Raiders, with a number of errors gifting the hosts in strong position to enhance their lead.
Brian Kelly looked to be the man to score his team’s second try in the 24th minute, popping in a slick kick down the sideline in attempt to outpace Kaeo Weekes.
Weekes managed to get his hand to the ball first and bat it into touch, although he could only do so as Canberra teammate Sanders had taken out Kelly.
“He is going to the bin. He has too,” Keary said.
Alexander added: “That was not needed. He can’t help himself.”
The Bunker agreed with the views of the former rugby league stars, recognising that no penalty try would be awarded as a sin bin would be a suffice punishment.
Josh Addo-Carr lashes his feet towards Xavier Savage. Fox League
Just three minutes later, the Eels were awarded a controversial try via Kelma Tuilagi, who the Bunker confirmed kept a finger on the ball when grounding it, much to the displeasure of the Raiders.
While momentum was in favour of the homeside, Parramatta were not willing to take any risks, with Ronald Volkman nailing a field goal to end the half ahead 9-0.
The Raiders did not get on the scoreboard until the 61st-minute when Matthew Timoko swerved past a handful of Eels defenders to ground the ball.
However, his effort came after Parramatta’s third try scored by Kitione Kautoga.
Josh Addo-Carr looked to be in some hot water earlier in the second half after he appeared to lash his feet at Savage when attempting to get out of a tackle.
The winger was pinged for the incident, with a penalty deemed to be the right call.
“There wasn’t too much in it,” Keary said.
“It’s certainly not the worst thing I’ve seen, but you can’t use your feet to push a player away. Simple as that,” Alexander added.