Canberra Raiders

Boyd and Leilua join Cowboys co-captains Johnathan Thurston and Matt Scott, as well as Michael Morgan and Justin O'Neill, in the train-on squad.

Kangaroos Coach Mal Meninga said he was pleased with the potential for the Four Nations squad based on the Prime Minister's XIII's 58-0 victory over the Papua New Guinea Prime Minister's XIII in Port Moresby last Saturday.

"The squad is taking shape very well," Meninga said.

"I was really pleased with the performance of a number of players in Port Moresby and it enhanced my thoughts on a number of players.

The Storm and Raiders finished first and second respectively on the 2016 Telstra Premiership ladder and now face off with a spot in the NRL Grand Final at stake.

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Today has been a disappointment for all Gulf residents in Port Moresby.

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The hosts controlled the contest from the get-go with bruising hits in defence, powerful running and an endless supply of offloads to set up a showdown with the Storm in Melbourne next Saturday night.

Things looked good for the Raiders as they raced out to an 18-0 lead before the Panthers showed their fighting spirit to close within six points, only to have their hopes of a comeback cruelled by two late Jarrod Croker penalty goals.

The Green Machine will host Cronulla in the first week of the finals after Hodgson's brilliance from dummy-half engineered the nine-tries-to-two win at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday before 18,634 fans.

However Raiders full-back Jack Wighton faces a nervous wait after being placed on report for a shoulder charge on Joel Edwards.

Canberra led 30-4 at half-time after completely dominating the first half, with Josh Papalii scoring two tries and Joey Leilua throwing the pass of the year - a 'swivel-flick' while running backwards - for a Jordan Rapana four-pointer.

One week after handing Cronulla its first loss since March, the Raiders on Monday night became just the second team in 30 years to beat the competition leaders in back-to-back games.

In front of 15,707 fans at Canberra Stadium, the Raiders claimed arguably their best win for the year with their defence turning the Storm away 51 times inside their own 20m zone.

In contrast, Canberra had just 16 possessions in the opposition red zone.

Canberra dominated the majority of the 80 minutes, scoring three tries directly from Warriors handling errors in their own half, on a night where they crossed for six four-pointers in greasy conditions.

Up 22-0 at the break, the Green Machine didn't let up in the second period, as they registered their first win in their last six games against the Kiwi side.

The early minutes suggested a grinding affair was on the cards, but once Canberra got over the top of the Warriors' pack in the middle the points quickly followed.

Austin (knee) and Sezer (cheekbone) returned earlier than expected after missing the previous three weeks following injuries suffered in the Round 1 win over Penrith.

The Raiders halves looked comfortable in what was just their second NRL game as a pairing, preferring to play a more measured game given the greasy conditions.

Both Austin and Sezer finished with virtually identical stats. The Canberra No.6 ran for 46 metres and made 18 tackles, while the Raiders halfback managed 39 metres and 17 tackles.

Waqa will remain part of the Raiders NRL squad until his release and will continue to train and play with the squad.

Waqa said the decision to move to French Rugby was a tough one and said he remained committed to the Raiders until his release is finalised.

"The Raiders have been great for my career and my family and it has been a hard decision for me to make," Waqa said.

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