The Canberra Raiders have suffered a disappointing 46-24 defeat to the Manly Sea Eagles this Saturday afternoon at GIO Stadium, Canberra.
GIO Stadium was filled with excitement as Canberra fans gathered to celebrate the milestone of Josh Papalii’s 300th game which he played last weekend against the Bulldogs.
The game kicked off with a bang, as five-eight Ethan Strange broke through in the first minute and attempted to snatch early points, but this was ruled to be no try.
Raiders showcased their strong goal-line defence as Manly winger Lehi Hopoate was looking dangerous in the left corner but was unable to get past Xavier Savage.
In a picture-perfect start to the game, milestone-man Josh Papalii was first to score, capitalising off of Manly errors and planting the ball under the posts.
Jamal Fogarty added the extras, bringing the score to 6-nil at the ten-minute-mark.
Manly were quick to respond, as Hopoate picked up a kick bomb and Tom Trbojevic crossed to score. Reuben Garrick converted the try, balancing out the score to six-all.
Canberra answered through an offload from Morgan Smithies and a quick play the ball from Fogarty to Kaeo Weekes who fought to score down the right edge. Jamal added the extras, giving the Raiders a six-point-lead.
Manly bounced back through tries from centre Tommy Talau and Ethan Bullemor, who ran to plant the ball next to the posts with seconds remaining in the first half.
Garrick added the extras to both tries, giving the Sea Eagles a six-point advantage as they went to the sheds.
Manly carried over their momentum into the second half, with back-to-back tries from skipper Daly Cherry-Evans and winger Hopoate. With one conversion, the Sea-Eagles extended their lead to 28-12.
Manly continued their run of tries, scoring another three in ten minutes through prop Taniela Paseka, fullback Tom Trbojevic, and five-eighth Luke Brooks. Garrick added the extras to all, extending Manly’s lead to 46-12.
With ten minutes to go, the Raiders claimed consolation tries on the wing through Sebastian Kris and Savage. Fogarty converted both tries, narrowing the margin to 46-24.
The Raiders will look to make amends next week as they travel to face the North Queensland Cowboys on Saturday night at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville.
