Canberra Raiders NRL News

Raiders beat Roosters despite questionable calls, needing wins and luck to make finals, Rapana injured.

Canberra Weekly

The Raiders have defended their way to an incredible 14-12 win over the Roosters in Sydney, despite being on the wrong end of some questionable refereeing decisions.

Canberra have now ambushed premiership fancies Penrith and the Roosters inside two weeks but their inferior for-and-against leaves them as only a mathematical chance of making the finals.

Their likeliest path to qualification is beating St George Illawarra next week and hoping Newcastle and the Dolphins draw.

Raiders fan favourite Jordan Rapana looks to have played his last NRL game after suffering a fractured...

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Canberra Raiders showed determination with gutsy defense, holding on to win despite setbacks.

The Canberra Times

It was one of the gutsiest defensive efforts the Canberra Raiders have produced.

Twice they were reduced to 12 men. Plus they lost fullback Jordan Rapana to a fractured cheekbone in the first half.

So they tackled themselves to a standstill - making 82 more tackles than the Sydney Roosters - as they held on to win 14-12 at the Sydney Football Stadium on Sunday.

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Raiders lead with Whitehead's tries, despite sin bin, Roosters fight back but fall short.

League Unlimited

Just minutes later, the Raiders took the lead when Elliot Whitehead powered over from close range. Not long after Whitehead contributed to a try again, this time making an offload for Simi Sasagi to cross. Even when Whitehead went to the sin bin for a hip drop that forced Brandon Smith off the field with a knee issue, the Raiders did not crack and took a 10-2 lead to half time.

After weathering the rest of the storm while Whitehead was in the bin, the Raiders pushed their lead to 12 when a poor Luke Keary pass eventually found its way into Xavier Savage, who simply was not going to be caught. That made it 14-2, and it should have been game over.

But when Whitehead used his foot to try and strike the ball out of the hands of Angus Crichton, all hell broke loose. Whitehead went to the sin bin again, and this time the Roosters capitalised with a Daniel Tupou try. But despite dominating possession over the net 10 minutes, the Roosters could not cross the line and again you'd be forgiven for thinking the Raiders were home and hosed.

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