Canberra Raiders Cup: Round 18 Wrap
The Canberra Raiders Cup finals are finally here after an eventful weekend which resulted in the West Belconnen Warriors being crowned minor premiers.
Gungahlin Bulls 42 d Tuggeranong Bushrangers 32
The Gungahlin Bulls have caused the upset of the round, defeating the minor premiership favourites heading into round 18, Tuggeranong, by ten points at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval on Saturday.
It was a tight contest through the first half with a late try in the 39th minute being the difference, with the Bushrangers holing a six point lead.
The two sides exchanged four-pointers to begin the second period until Gungahlin crashed over for three straight tries to take a 42-28 lead into the dying minutes.
Kieran Reilly and Cody Smith were outstanding for the Bulls registering two tries each in the side’s final game of the year.
The victory ripped away Tuggeranong's chances of finishing first, who will now host the Queanbeyan Blues in an elimination game in week one of the finals.
Belconnen United Sharks 34 d Yass Magpies 32
The Belconnen United Sharks ended their season on a high, defeating Yass by two points in a thriller at NSWRLHQ in Bruce.
The Magpies started the game on fire holding a 20-4 lead after 27 minutes of action on Saturday afternoon.
Yass looked in a controlling position going into the second half but the Sharks came home with a wet sail, highlighted by young gun Reagan Carr’s try double.
Belconnen were able to steal the game from the Magpies in the 71st minute before a consolation try by Yass made it 34-32.
Both sides unfortunately didn’t qualify for finals and will begin preparation for 2023 in a couple months time.
West Belconnen Warriors 26 d Queanbeyan Blues 10
The Warriors have secured the 2022 Canberra Raiders Cup minor premiership, defeating Queanbeyan 26-10 on their home turf of Seiffert Oval on Saturday afternoon.
It was a scrappy contest for majority of the first half, but the Warriors were able to edge themselves in front before the break with a 12-6 lead.
The Blues struggled to stop West Belconnen’s momentum through the second period, resulting in the Warriors ballooning out to a double digit lead.
Halfback Bobby Roberts bounced back from his poor kicking performance last week, leading the Warriors to an incredible victory.
Since West Belconnen finished atop the competition, they will host the major semi-final against Woden at Raiders Belconnen.
The Blues did enough to secure fourth spot in the finals, where they will travel to Greenway Oval to take on Tuggeranong.
Queanbeyan Kangaroos 54 d Goulburn City 14
What started as a disappointing season for the Kangaroos has ended on a high note, with the Queanbeyan side defeating the Bulldogs by 40-points on Saturday afternoon.
It took over 20 minutes for the Roos to hit the front but once they did it was all over for Goulburn, with Queanbeyan opening up their lead to 14-points at halftime.
But they didn’t slow down there, with the visitors running in five second half tries to demolish the Bulldogs in their last game of the season.
Winger Aiden Agnew and lock Jayden Thomas led the try scorers for Queanbeyan with two each, while Goulburn's star centre Dillon Rota crossed over for another try for the Bulldogs in their loss.
This is the end of the season for both sides who showed serious potential in patches throughout the year and will look to be premiership contenders in 2023.
