The Canberra Raiders have celebrated Sia Soliola’s 100th club match with a 30-18 win over the Penrith Panthers at Panthers Stadium on Sunday night.
Six different try scorers and several enormous defensive efforts from the Green Machine has helped them chalk up a third win in a row and end the Panthers seven-game winning streak.
The win cements the Raiders in the top four coming into the latter stages of the season.
The Raiders started on the back foot early after the Panthers spotted numbers on the right and capitalised through winger Brian To’o.
The Raiders showed their resilience after defending eight back-to-back sets from the Panthers, keeping their scoreless in an amazing defensive effort.
The Green Machine got their first of their night through Josh Papalii, who crashed his way through the Panthers defence unscathed to put the Raiders in front.
It got worse for the Panthers, as they lost centre Dean Whare to the sin bin after tackling Jarrod Croker off the ball.
The Raiders capitalised almost immediately after as Elliot Whitehead barged his way through to score in the left corner.
A converted penalty to the Panthers right on half-time meant the Raiders went into the sheds with a six-point lead.
The Raiders scored minutes into the second half after a beautiful passing play made it to Michael Oldfield on the wing, who put a lovely kick into the centre for Aidan Sezer to collect and score.
The Panthers responded immediately after a chip and chase worked off as Moses Leota crossed underneath the posts.
Five minutes later, a fumble by the Panthers saw a loose ball in the try area with fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad there to ground it and claim the four-pointer.
Raiders winger Jordan Rapana was next to get on the board, bumping off four Penrith defenders to plant it confidently in the corner.
The Panthers got one back with ten minutes remaining as James Tamou crossed over to finally score after six back-to-back sets.
With five minutes to go, a short dropout from the Panthers didn’t go to plan, as John Bateman picked up a loose ball, spun his way out of a tackle and crossed for a try.
A last-ditch attempt from the Panthers fizzled out into nothing as Raiders ended the match 30-18 winners on Sunday night.
Canberra Raiders 30 (Tries: Papalii, Whitehead, Sezer, Nicoll-Kolkstad, Rapana, Bateman. Goals: Croker: 3/6) def.
Penrith Panthers 18 (Tries: To,o, Leota, Tamou. Goals: Cleary: 3/4)
