The North Sydney Bears came from behind to seal a 26-18 win in the NSW Cup trial match against the Raiders at Seiffert Oval on Saturday afternoon.
The Raiders fielded a squad with a number of familiar faces in the first half of the NSW Cup trial as they started brightly.
Corey Horsburgh looked dangerous in his first game since returning from a Lisfranc injury that he sustained in round seven last year with his appetite for hitups and offload.
Starting at left centre, Seb Kris had the first chance of the game as the Raiders spread the ball right but the ball was lost over the line.
However the breakthrough came shortly afterwards as Horsburgh barged over next to the posts after ten minutes.
Joseph Suaalii hit back for the Bears but Volkman missed the conversion.
The Raiders pounced on a Bears mistake as Volkman’s forward pass was gathered by Raiders winger Brigham Moeakiola who ran 50 metres to score to give the Raiders a 12-4 lead at halftime.
The second half saw the Raiders bring on a mix of youngsters and players with first grade experience but the Bears managed to score back to back to tries.
Ben Thomas barged his way over the line for the first before the halfback put Naufahu Whyte through a hole for the second.
Suaalii scored his second of the match to give the Bears a six point lead before Corey Horsburgh was put on report for a potential shoulder charge.
Dunamis Lui made a difference within minutes of getting on the field as he got through the line before passing to Tom Starling who was up in support.
However, the Bears sealed the win in the dying moments of the match as Naufahu Whyte scored his second.
North Sydney Bears 26 (Tries: Whyte 2, Suaalii 2, Thomas; Goals: Carr 3) d Canberra Raiders 18 (Tries: Horsburgh, Moeakiola, Starling; Goals: Schneider, Simonsson, S. Williams)
