In a hard-fought clash, the Canberra Raiders have suffered a 34-20 loss to the Sydney Roosters on Sunday night at Allianz Stadium.
Despite a strong start and flashes of brilliance throughout the match, the Raiders were unable to overcome the Roosters' second-half surge.
The match kicked off with a bang, as Simaima Taufa collected a pass from halfback Ashleigh Quinlan and ran through the middle to steal early points.
Five-eighth Zahara Temara successfully added the extras, bringing the score to six-nil just two minutes into the match.
The Roosters attempted to answer through tries from halfback Tarryn Aiken, however these attempts were disallowed due to knock ons.
Canberra quickly countered, shifting the play to the left, where Madison Bartlett crossed the line in the corner. With an unsuccessful conversion, the Raiders extended their lead to ten-nil.
The Raiders defence continued to stand firm until Roosters second-rower Amber Hall broke through, barging over to score next to the posts. With a successful conversion, the Roosters tightened the margin to 10-6.
The match remained back and forth, until the momentum shifted and the Roosters made two quick shifts to the left, allowing winger Mia Wood to score back-to-back tries in the corner.
Roosters five-eighth Jocelyn Kelleher added the extras to one of the tries, giving the Roosters a six-point lead that they took into half-time.
The Roosters carried over this momentum into the second half as Eliza Lopamaua sliced through to score.
Soon after, Tiana Davison ran after a loose ball to plant it just inside the line for another try. Kelleher converted both tries, extending the Roosters lead to 18 points.
Canberra responded through centre Mackenzie Wiki, who made a strong run, fighting off two Roosters players to score in the right edge.
Both teams continued to play set for set, until Tarryn Aiken scooped up an intercept and bagged a full field try.
With three minutes remaining in the match, Canberra capitalised on a Roosters penalty, as Grace Kemp offloaded to Hollie-Mae Dodd who stretched out to score a consolation try.
Temara added the extras, bringing the final score of the match to 34-20.
The Raiders will look to bounce back next week as they face the Dragons next Saturday at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Sydney
