PARRAMATTA EELS 12 CANBERRA RAIDERS 50
CALLUM WALKER, TIO Stadium, Darwin, Saturday
IT was as straightforward as it comes for Canberra as the Raiders tore the Eels apart in emphatic fashion with an eight-try haul.
There was little sign of things to come in the opening quarter as Joseph Tapine and Dylan Brown exchanged tries, but three successive four-pointers from the Raiders saw them lead 24-6 at the break.
Ethan Strange restored the Raiders’ six-point advantage before Hudson Young and Matt Timoko compounded the misery for Parramatta just before half-time.
To their credit, the Eels appeared to have been given a rocket at half-time with Josh Addo-Carr reducing the deficit to twelve with a neat score, but Parramatta simply couldn’t live with the Raiders’ rising intensity.
And when Young grabbed his second just before the hour, it was clear that this game was only heading one way.
To make matters worse for the Eels, the Raiders would register another three tries before the end, Xavier Savage dotting down before the ever-impressive Matty Nicholson got on the board and Sebastian Kris rounded things off with two minutes to go.
Parramatta are now firmly rooted to the bottom of the NRL ladder with just one win in six games.
EELS: 1 Isaiah Iongi, 2 Josh Addo-Carr, 3 Will Penisini, 4 Sean Russell, 20 Bailey Simonsson, 6 Dylan Brown, 7 Dean Hawkins, 8 Joe Ofahengaue, 16 Charlie Guymer, 10 Junior Paulo, 11 Shaun Lane, 12 Kitione Kautoga, 13 J’maine Hopgood. Subs (all used): 9 Ryley Smith, 14 Dylan Walker, 15 Luca Moretti, 22 Ryan Matterson
Tries: Brown (14), Addo-Carr (50); Goals: Russell 2/2
RAIDERS: 1 Kaeo Weekes, 2 Savelio Tamale, 3 Matt Timoko, 4 Sebastian Kris, 5 Xavier Savage, 6 Ethan Strange, 7 Jamal Fogarty, 8 Josh Papalii, 9 Tom Starling, 10 Joseph Tapine, 11 Hudson Young, 12 Matty Nicholson, 13 Corey Horsburgh. Subs (all used): 14 Owen Pattie, 15 Simi Sasagi, 16 Morgan Smithies, 17 Ata Mariota
Tries: Tapine (7), Strange (20), Young (24, 58), Timoko (39), Savage (65), Nicholson (75), Kris (78); Goals: Fogarty 7/7, Weekes 2/2
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 6-6, 6-12, 6-18, 6-24; 12-24, 12-26, 12-32, 12-38, 12-44, 12-50
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Eels: Kitione Kautoga; Raiders: Hudson Young
Penalty count: 4-7; Half-time: 6-24; Referee: Wyatt Raymond; Attendance: 9,556
