The Canberra Raiders have suffered a 24-12 defeat against the Cronulla Sharks at GIO Stadium Canberra on Saturday afternoon.
An impressive opening half for the home side wasn’t enough as Cronulla scored twenty-four unanswered points, leaving the nation’s capital with the two competition points.
In an exciting opening ten minutes, both sides had golden opportunities with the ball with impressive defence on show to prevent either side breaking the deadlock.
Raiders co-captain Zehara Temara left the field after twelve minutes undergoing a head injury assessment which she returned from.
Canberra opened the scoring through winger Madison Bartlett after a swift interchange of passing from the left edge to establish a 6-0 advantage.
A strong set after points saw the Raiders on the attack once again, with a high tackle on Chante Temara allowing Tungai to add a further two points to the scoreboard with a penalty goal adjacent to the uprights.
The green wall was on full display in the opening half with crunching hits and intense scrambling defence, a key to the home side entering the break with the advantage, keeping their opposition scoreless.
An error off the restart to the second half provided the Raiders with a golden opportunity which they took full advantage with Wiki placing Bartlett over untouched to score her second of the afternoon, extending the lead to 12-0.
A line break from Sharks hooker Quincy Dodd broke the game open in the forty-fifth minute with Cronulla’s captain Tiana Penitani crossing on the next tackle with a direct run at a retreating Raiders defence.
The ascendancy of the contest shifted towards the visitors with direct hard running through the middle providing the Sharks with multiple sets attacking the Raiders try line.
The positive period for the Sharks continued with a backline move to the right edge off a scrum proving fruitful with Annessa Biddle breaking a tackle and diving over the try line, reducing the margin to four points.
An attempted short kick off for the Raiders saw the Sharks on the attack once again, the constant pressure proved too much for the Canberra defence as Wheeler crashed over underneath the post to hand her side the lead, 14-12.
The impressive ball movement from the Sharks pushed the Raiders defensive line around, with a retreating defensive line unable to stop Nakia Davis Welsh who crossed in the corner, extending the visitors lead to six points with ten minutes remaining.
Cronulla’s forwards continued to punish the Raiders defence, Ellie Johnston crashing over from short range to further the Sharks lead to twelve points.
The Canberra Raiders will look to bounce back as they travel to Totally Workwear Stadium next Saturday morning for a contest against the Brisbane Broncos.
