The Toyota Forklift Raiders secured a nail-biting victory over the Roosters in Sydney as Fogarty’s kicking game proved too difficult to handle, winning 20-18.
In the opening minutes of the game Jamal Fogarty gave the Raiders the upper hand with a lethal bomb, proving too difficult to catch for the rookie Roosters winger Junior Pauga.
With Eagan Butcher being offside and regaining possession, the Raiders were awarded a penalty with Croker converting to give the green machine a 2-0 lead in the seventh minute.
The Raiders momentum was soon halted, with the experienced Josh Papalii suffering a hamstring injury and being forced to leave he field.
Croker once again stepped up in the 25th minute, forcing an error with a strong defensive effort.
In the 16th minute, the Raiders halves linked together through a Fogarty bomb, allowing Jack Wighton to tower over James Tedesco to score the first try of the night.
Croker missed the conversion which left the score settled at 6-0 by the 18th minute.
Unable to retain possession from the kick-off, the Raiders rallied together to redeem their mistake with some solid goal line defence putting a stop to any momentum the Roosters hoped the gain.
Croker and Hudson Young linked together down the left edge, with a classy flick pass from the Origin representative putting Albert Hopoate over in the corner.
Croker successfully kicked from the sideline to further the lead to 12-0 in the 22nd minute.
Fogarty continued to bombard the Roosters with an aerial raid. A strong kick chase from Sebastian Kris allowed the fullback to tip the ball backwards, with Matthew Timoko pouncing on the loose ball, scoring the Raiders third try of the night.
Once again Croker converted to push the Raiders lead to 18-0 with 10 minutes left in the half.
With one minute remaining, Joseph Manu scored the Roosters first try of the game in an attempt to salvage the half for the home side. Sandon Smith converted the try to make it 6-18 at the break.
The Roosters were first to hit back after the break, with Manu completing his double in the 42nd minute. Smith converted to make it 12-18.
The Raiders looked to reply in the 52nd minute with Joe Tapine putting Kris through a hole, resulting in an offload to Fogarty who was chased down just shy of the roosters try-line.
In the 54th minute the Raiders were awarded a penalty due to a Luke Keary scrum infringement. Croker converted a penalty kick to set the score at 20-12.
Once again Manu looked to threaten the Raiders try-line in the 60th minute but it was Hopoate who put a stop to the attack with a crucial tackle, forcing a knock on over the line.
The roosters continued to apply pressure to the Raiders goal line as they gained momentum over the match.
Tom Starling pushed the ball dead in the 69th minute, forcing a dropout. The Green Machine quickly took the dropout, catching the opposition off guard as Jordan Rapana chipped it just over to 10m line for Kris to regain possession.
A dangerous tackle on Jarrod Waera-Hargreaves awarded the Roosters a penalty and some much-needed field position.
With five minutes remaining in the match Lindsay Collins scored under the post, with Smith converting as they tried to claw back a victory. The score reading 18-20.
But it was the Raiders who were victorious, proving too strong in Sydney, taking a 20-18 victory at Allianz Stadium over the Roosters.
