The Toyota Forklift Raiders NSW Cup team have proven too strong, knocking off the top of the table Newtown Jets in a 28-20 win at GIO Stadium Canberra on Sunday.
Aerial domination combined with some heavy hitting and strong running from Valemei in both attack and defence proved instrumental in the Raiders gritty performance.
Captain Croker kicked all six attempted conversions, ensuring the team got over the line by two points at full-time.
With the Raiders kicking off the game, both teams went set for set in blistering hot conditions.
With both teams moving the ball well and completing the majority of their sets, a moment of lapse from the Raiders helped the Jets break the line putting them on the front foot in the opening five minutes.
In the same set, Niwhai Puru caught the Raiders on the back foot putting in a kick towards the corner for fullback Mawene Hiroti to chase down and plant the ball down in the in-goal with centimetres to spare.
After conceding the try, Raiders halfback Brad Schneider gave away a penalty on the halfway line to give the Jets a chance to score in back-to-back sets.
And that they did, with winger Samuel Stonestreet going over in the corner to extend the Jets lead to 8-nil with Hiroti missing both of his conversions.
In the following set thereafter, a knock-on from the Jets allowed the Raiders a chance to score for the first time in the match.
Proving a costly error by the Jets, a good run around set play from the Raiders off the scrum put Jed Stuart over for the Raiders’ first try of the day 12 minutes in and converted by captain Jarrod Croker.
Not long after, a forward pass from Schneider to Valemei left them rueing a golden chance who was left wide open on the wing.
Quick play-the-ball speed from the Jets had the Raiders out on their feet putting in tough tackles containing them at two tries.
A challenging spiral kick from the Raiders half-way line by Joshua James sat up nicely in the in-goal, gifting the ball back via a great catch by Valemei from a Jets dropout.
Continuous goal-line pressure from the Raiders had the Jets scurrying until a strong tackle forced an error after coughing up the ball ten metres out.
The Jets quickly pounced after five-eighth Daniel Atkinson was fed an offload and ran for 80-metres scoring a try to help the Jets extend their lead to 14-6.
Some good kicking from the Raiders halves helped regain field position putting continued pressure on the Jets defence.
After continuous sets backed up on their line, the Raiders persisted and eventually scored through a barraging run from second-rower Clay Webb with five minutes remaining in the first half.
A penalty late in the half gifted the perfect chance for Jarod Croker to tie the game up at 14 a-piece heading into the shed at half-time, which he slotted beautifully.
An eyes-up play from James saw him take advantage of the out of place fullback kicking a 20-40 to give them great field position to start the second half.
A grubber kick on the final play from the Raiders almost saw them score under the post, dropping the contested ball over the line.
Penalty off the ball in a contest for a kick gave the Jets a repeat set in front of the Raiders line.
A sneaky dummy play from Hiroti saw him go over for the second time in the match to present them with the lead of 20-14 after a conversion from Hiroti.
Poor kicking from the Jets halves gave away the ball in a good area for the Green Machine, gifting Schneider a golden chance down the right edge in a solo effort to level the game at 20 points all.
Some hard running from the Raiders coming out of their own end from James and Jordan Martin helped them stay in the fight.
In scorching 35-degree heat, both teams took a drinks break with 20 minutes remaining in the game, but it was the Green Machine that came out with more intent.
With a well-placed kick into the in-goal by Schneider forcing a short dropout from the Jets that didn’t travel 10 metres, allowed Croker to kick a penalty goal to lead for the first time in the game, 22-20.
In the final 15 minutes, a fatigued-riddled Jets side made consecutive errors coming out of their end, proving hard to get back in the game with little to no field position.
The Green Machine piled on the pressure, with Morkos storming over the line to extend their lead to eight points.
Late penalties from the Raiders gave the Jets a glimmer of hope to steal the win but prevailed winning the match 28-20 at GIO Stadium.
