The Toyota Forklifts Canberra Raiders have secured their eighth win in a row with a strong 40-16 win over the Parramatta Eels in front of an electrified crowd at GIO Stadium, Canberra.
Despite a halftime deficit, the Raiders combination of pure strength and speed locked the win in for the forever green round.
It was Jed Stuart who opened the scoring for the boys in green, supported by some slick hands as he ploughed the ball across the line on the left edge. A successful conversion by Jamal Fogarty brought the score to 6–nil five minutes into the first half.
Moments later, Ethan Strange shrugged off multiple defenders to lead Zac Hosking directly to the try line with Fogarty easily adding the extras.
The Eels came close to scoring their first points, but Kaeo Weekes held them up and stopped their try attempt.
A line break by Josh Addo-Carr gave the Eels another chance to score and despite the Raiders’ defensive efforts, Charlie Guymer slipped his way through off the back of a clean grubber kick to record the Eels first points of the game.
Zac Lomax then intercepted a pass and charged 80 metres down the field, looking dangerous in the Raiders’ red zone. However, the Raiders managed to hold Parramatta back.
Off the back of a short kick from the Eels that took an awkward bounce, they were able to regain possession. Lomax then swept around the right wing to score. An unsuccessful conversion put the score at 12-10 with 10 minutes left in the first half.
Not finished with their attacking run, it was the Eels who scored again through Sean Russell who found himself in the left edge of the Raiders’ goal line. A successful conversion by Lomax put the Eels in front 16-12 at halftime.
Both teams started the second half trading sets until what seemed to be a 40/20 from the Raiders was disallowed after a review from the bunker.
The Raiders continued to press in the red zone but couldn’t convert their chances. Strange looked to spark an opportunity, but a loose pass intended for Stuart was intercepted by the Eels.
However, the Eels couldn’t hold onto possession for long, with a handling error gifting the Raiders another chance. This time, they made it count when Stuart sliced through the left edge to score his second try of the day. Fogarty just put the conversion out wide from the posts, levelling the score 16-all.
Hosking and Weekes almost made a break bringing the Raiders down the field. From there Simi Sasagi vigorously forced his way through four Eels’ defenders to add another four points for the green machine. This time Fogarty added the extras with ease.
A penalty awarded to the Raiders gave them a chance to extend their lead by two, but the kick was off target, leaving the score at 22-16 with 11 minutes remaining.
The Raiders appeared to have scored through Xavier Savage, but the try was disallowed due to a knock-on over the line.
Moments later a superb offload from Corey Horsburgh granted Owen Pattie his first career try in the NRL.
Just like clockwork, the Raiders struck again with a brilliant run downfield from Weekes, who linked up with Timoko. But just as he looked set to score, a knock-on in the in-goal area spoiled the opportunity.
Pattie wasn’t done yet, charging through multiple defenders, as he stormed down the field to cross for his second try of the day.
With only seconds left on the clock, the Raiders got one more in with Ethan Strange planting the ball just shy of the posts. Fogarty drilled the ball through the posts, wrapping up the game 40-16 for the Raiders.
The Raiders continue their run at home next week when they take on Knights next Sunday afternoon.