The Canberra Raiders have recorded an important victory against the Newtown Jets in the NSW Cup, coming away with a 30-22 win on Sunday afternoon at GIO Stadium.
Doubles from Semi Valemei and the returning Elijah Anderson were enough to get the Raiders the win, holding off a late Jets push to secure the two points.
After a back and forth opening to the match it was the Raiders who were able to get off to the perfect start, finding joy on their right-hand edge.
Second rower Jordan Martin was the man to run onto a perfectly weighted pass, crashing through a stagnant Jets defence to score the first try of the afternoon.
Brad Schneider made no mistakes with the conversion, giving Canberra a 6-0 lead in the 10th minute.
After errors from both teams due to the challenging conditions it was some Valemei magic that extended the Raiders lead.
The centre was able to pick the ball up out of dummy half 10 metres out, piercing the goal line defence of the Jets with a short range try in the 22nd minute.
Schneider’s conversion attempt could only find the upright, leaving the score at 10-0 in favour of Canberra.
The Jets were able to reduce the deficit soon after, when Jenson Taumoepeau was able to find Tyla Tamou in the 31st minute on the outside of Canberra’s left edge defence.
The winger made no mistake, crossing for his team’s first of the day, with a missed conversion leaving the score line at 10-4 in favour of Canberra.
It didn’t take the Raiders long to regain their two try advantage, when Rayden Burns found Elijah Anderson with a perfectly weighted cut-out ball in the 36th minute.
The winger was able to cross over untouched, with Schneider’s second conversion of the game giving the Green Machine a 16-4 with only minutes remaining in the half.
The Raiders were not done yet, with a beautiful fend from Valemei leaving him just enough room to score his second of the game on the half-time hooter.
Schneider could not add the extra two, hitting the upright yet again to leave Canberra with a 20-4 lead at the half-time break.
The momentum didn’t stop for Canberra to begin the second half, with Valemei finding some room down the left after a Newtown error on their try line.
Despite being run down 20 metres from the line a quick play the ball saw the Jets short on the opposite wing, with Anderson crossing for his second in the 44th minute.
Schneider could not convert the try, leaving the Raiders with a 24-4 lead.
It was Schneider himself who was able to get the next Raiders try, using some fancy footwork to break the Newtown’s line to get over in the 54th minute. He was able to convert his own try, leaving Canberra with a deserved 30-4 lead.
Some nice link up play from the Jets prop forwards saw Caleb Uele cross over under the posts, scoring Newtown’s second try of the match in the 68th minute. A successful conversion attempt would leave the Raiders leading 30-10 with 10 minutes remaining.
The Jets late push would continue, with the away side scoring yet again just minutes later. It was this time Luke Metcalf who crossed over, with the halfback converting his own try with the Raiders leading 30-16.
Metcalf would again score in the 79th minute, with a Tamou cut out ball finding the halfback near the posts. The Jets would convert on the siren, giving the Raiders a 30-22 victory at home.
The Raiders will be looking to continue this momentum when they come up against the Penrith Panthers next Saturday afternoon at Raiders Belconnen, whilst the Jets will be looking to bounce back against the Newcastle Knights.
