The Raiders have survived a late comeback to overcome the Roosters 20-18 in a valuable away win to close out Round 17.
Bouncing back from a disappointing loss to the Warriors in Round 15, the Raiders rolled out of their bye red-hot on Sunday night, with Jamal Fogarty terrorising James Tedesco with the high ball, setting up two early tries off the boot.
With errors creeping into their game in the second-half, Ricky Stuart's side couldn't convert a try after the 28th minute but thanks to a Jarrod Croker penalty goal, two points was enough to secure the win at Moore Park.
While Trent Robinsons' side stayed in the contest for majority of the match, despite losing Angus Crichton (knee), Egan Butcher (head knock) and Jake Turpin (rib), they couldn't quite catch up to the Green Machine's early lead.
The Raiders made a blistering start when a Fogarty kick put the Roosters under too much pressure in the in goal and a penalty against Egan Butcher for being offside handed Croker the opportunity to open the scoring for the Raiders.
The next ten minutes saw a fairly even contest but it was the Raiders who won the arm wrestle when Jack Wighton leaped over Tedesco to snatch a Fogarty bomb and muscle his way over the line.
With an eight-point lead, the Raiders had all the momentum at Allianz and ran in another two tries in seven minutes.
It was a recurring nightmare for Tedesco when Fogarty punted another high ball over the line and this time Seb Kris outjumping the Roosters fullback, knocking the ball back for Matt Timoko to score the Raiders' third. Croker converted both to make it 18-4.
With just seconds remaining in the half the Roosters fired their first shot when halfback Luke Keary took the ball to the line before offloading to Joey Manu who charged downfield to score and reduce the deficit 18-6 at the break.
This time it was the Roosters with the leap when Manu beat Croker to a Keary bomb just two minutes into the second half to put the home side right back in the contest at 18-12.
But the Raiders extended the lead 20-12 in the 56th minute when Croker slotted another two-pointer after Luke Keary was penalised for interference in the ruck.
It was Origin II player-of-the-match Lindsay Collins who broke the 33minute deadlock when the barnstorming forward crashed over the line to bring the scoreboard to 20-18.
But time proved the enemy for the home side and that's as far as the Roosters came to chasing the Raiders' early lead.
Match Snapshot
- Angus Crichton's 150th NRL finished in disappointing fashion, with the star second rower ruled out early in the second half with a knee injury.
- Raiders prop Josh Papali'i was ruled out of the match with a hamstring strain after limping from the field in the 10th minute.
- Roosters backrower Egan Butcher was ruled out of the match for a head knock after being sent for a HIA in the 50th minute.
- The Raiders had 55 per cent of possession in the first half and completed 16 of 18 sets compared to the Roosters' 13 of 17.
- Roosters hooker Jake Turpin left the field and went straight under the tunnel in the 61st minute of the match for a suspected rib injury.
- Hudson Young backed up from Origin II to get through plenty of work for Canberra with 122 metres off 16 runs and 23 tackles.
- Roosters winger Daniel Tupou carried the ball 215 metres, with 73 post-contact and broke two tackles.
- Corey Horsburgh got through plenty of work for the Green Machine with 145 metres from 18 hit ups and an incredible 51 tackles with only one missed.
- The Raiders have won five of eight away games in 2023, having also beat the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium, Rabbitohs at Accor Stadium, Tigers at Campbelltown and Bulldogs at Suncorp in Magic Round.
Play of the Game
After already exposing the Roosters' troubles under the high ball with an offside penalty and early try, Jamal Fogarty exploited on an already under pressure Roosters' backline when he punted the ball to the line in the 28th minute. Centre Matt Timoko was in the right spot at the right time when fullback Seb Kris outjumped James Tedesco to get first touch on another Fogarty bomb, batting the ball back to Timoko to score the Raiders' third try. Although the try came in the first half an hour of the match, it proved the difference with the Raiders failing to find the line again but holding on to a two-point lead.
What They Said
"We had enough time to run it down and I felt like we were creating some opportunities, but we couldn't finish them off. I felt like our defence for the most part was really strong and then we went after them in the second-half, got lots of opportunities but just couldn't nail it. Even with players down we had an opportunity to go after the game, but we didn't." - Roosters coach Trent Robinson
"I've just got to be better there. There's not any reason to it, I've just got to be confident in going up and taking it. Those two tries cost us in the end." - Roosters captain James Tedesco
Losing Papa (Papali'i) so early, and only playing with one middle on the bench. That put a lot of extra strain on the middles and there was some guys out there wounded tonight who played on and it shows a great resilience and character.
He's so diligent (Fogarty) at doing extras at practice. He's always one of the last blokes out on the field. He's not wrapped for his kicking game. But he's got height and distance. His management now, in regard to the kicking, has excelled and I think it kept us on the front foot for a lot of the game tonight." - Raiders coach Ricky Stuart
What's Next
The Roosters head over the bridge to 4 Pines Park to meet with Manly on Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the Raiders return home to host the Titans at GIO Stadium on Saturday.
Story first published on NRL.com