The Canberra Raiders have defeated the Parramatta Eels in the NSW Cup in a come from behind victory on Saturday evening at GIO Stadium.
Trailing 22-12 in the second half, the Raiders scored three unanswered tries to eventually win 30-22.
The Raiders wore black armbands in the match as a mark of respect for former lower grade coach Graham ‘Buck’ Rodgers who passed away earlier this week.
The Eels were first to score when winger Haze Dunster crossed the line in the fifth minute. The Eels had the ball close to the Raiders’ line and spread it right; a pass from Will Penisini finding Dunster unmarked.
The Raiders hit back in the 10th minute when Corey Harawira-Naera caught a Matt Frawley kick in the Eels’ in-goal. Brad Schneider converted to give the Raiders a 6-4 lead.
Haze Dunster picked up a loose ball from the Raiders at the Eels’ 40-meter line and raced away for his second try. Shortly after, Harry Rushton was put on report for a crusher tackle.
Matt Frawley looked to have scored for the Raiders after he stepped through a yawning gap close to the line, but the try was disallowed for obstruction.
The Eels then marched down the field and a big shift from the right corner out to the left saw Solomone Naiduki score. Jordan Rankin converted to take the score to 16-6.
An Eels knock-on in their red zone gave the Raiders an attacking set just before half time. Corey Harawira-Naera burst on to a ball from dummy-half and crashed over to score.
After repelling multiple attacking sets close to their line through the opening exchanges of the second half, the Eels went on the offensive and scored. Former Raider Michael Oldfield threw a no-look flick pass to set up Jakob Arthur for the try.
Trailing 22-12, the Raiders badly needed points and Darby Medlyn stood up. He broke the Eels line from 20 out with a strong run and scored just next to the posts.
Matt Frawley then jumped on the points bandwagon - scoring off a brilliant team effort that started at halfway. Winger Toby Marks put in a kick from the left side back infield to set up the try.
Brad Schneider then sealed victory for the Raiders when he scored 76th minute and converted to put the Green Machine out to an eight-point lead.
Canberra Raiders 30 (Tries: C Harawira-Naera 2, D Medlyn, M Frawley; Goals: B Schneider 5) Paramatta Eels 22 (Tries: H Dunster 2, S Naiduki, J Arthur; Goals: J Rankin 3)
