The Canberra Raiders have entered the NRL’s top eight after securing a 48-6 win over the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at GIO Stadium Canberra.
It is the Raiders biggest win over the Sea Eagles and the green machine will now sit eighth after jumping the Brisbane Broncos who are now in ninth position on the NRL ladder.
Both teams are currently sitting on 28 competition points but the Raiders have the benefit of having a better for and against.
It was an all-around great performance for the green machine and a phenomenal game for Jamal Fogarty who scored 16 points as well as securing his first try as a Raider.
Along with the win, the club celebrated Ricky Stuart who tied Tim Sheens for the record of most games coached for the Raiders with 219.
It was also an emotional day for the club as not only was it the final home game for the season, but the Raiders also said farewell to Josh Hodgson, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Adam Elliot, Ryan Sutton, Harry Rushton and Sam Williams in front of the home crowd.
Both sides made their intentions clear in the opening exchanges of the match, with some heavy-hitting defence.
Momentum changed in favour of the green machine following a great take from Rapana inside the Raiders goal line which allowed for a quick 20-metre tap.
This put the Raiders in great field position and it was Jack Wighton who delivered a gorgeous cut-out pass to Rapana who crossed over in the 5th minute.
Fogarty's first conversion attempt of the afternoon was unsuccessful from the left sideline as the Raiders took a 4-point lead.
It looked like it was going to be a similar set following the kick-off for Canberra but an unfortunate error gave the Sea Eagles great field position.
However, the Raiders proved that they were up for the challenge as they kept the Sea Eagles scoreless.
Manly looked to have the momentum but the Raiders would turn defence into attack after Tapine picked up a loose ball to find Jack Wighton, who proceeded to run close to the length of the field before finding Xavier Savage on his inside to cap off a great long-range try.
Fogarty converted from the right side of the post to give the Raiders a 6-0 lead after 15 minutes of play.
All the momentum was then with the Raiders but it would be Manly who turned defence into attack but some great scramble defence by the home side kept the Sea Eagles out of their goal line.
The Raiders would continue their relentless attack and it was Hudson Young, who found a loose ball following a Fogarty kick that scored the Raiders third try in the 21st minute.
Fogarty would nail his second conversion attempt of the afternoon as the Raiders went up 16-0.
The Raiders would score their fourth through Tom Starling after some great support play following a line break by Kris.
Another successful conversion from Fogarty extended the Raiders lead to 22 points in the 27th minute.
The Raiders continued to cause havoc through their middle and down their left edge which gave them great field position to cross over once again.
After a kick from Fogarty, Rapana ended up with the ball and put in a grubber kick which ended up back with Fogarty, who scored his first try of the afternoon.
Fogarty converted his own try as the Raiders led 28-0 with just over ten minutes remaining.
The Raiders continued to terrorise Manly's defence but failed to capitalise on a few opportunities which saw them take that 28-0 lead into halftime.
Unfortunately, the start to the second half wasn't as good as the first for the Raiders but more than made up for their lack of attack with some great defence to keep Manly scoreless.
However, the Raiders would open the scoring in the second half in the ?? minute, capitalising off a Manly error.
It was just pure power from Young who crossed over for his second try of the match as his phenomenal run of form continues.
Fogarty converted 20 metres in from the left sideline as the Raiders extended their lead to 34 points.
After showing great defence all game, it took until the 64th minute for Manly to crack the Raiders defence.
It was Ethan Bullemor who crossed over for the Sea Eagles after receiving an offload from Parker, Cherry-Evans converted which limited the aways side deficit to 28 points.
The Raiders wouldn't take long to hit back as former Sea Eagles junior Albert Hopoate scored after capitalising on a Manly error.
Fogarty’s sixth conversion brought up 40 points for the Raiders with just over ten minutes left in the match.
Canberra’s onslaught would continue just moments later, with Sebastian Kris scoring his first try of the match in the 69th minute.
Fogarty was unsuccessful in his conversion attempt for the second time in the match, but the try extended the Raiders lead to 44-6.
It was then Harawira-Naera’s turn to cross over for his first try of the afternoon which brought up 48 points for the Raiders.
Unfortunately, Rapana missed his conversion attempt from the left sideline as the side extended their lead to 42 points with seven minutes remaining.
Another Manly error close to their own goal line would invite the Raiders into great attacking field position once again but for one of the few times in the match, they failed to capitalise.
The Raiders earned a penalty in the final play of the game but the penalty goal attempt was unsuccessful.
The Raiders walked away with a 48-6 win over the Sea Eagles and will now travel to Leichhardt Oval and play the Wests Tigers next Sunday, with the hope of securing that finals berth.
