The Raiders U20's have secured their second win of the season after defeating the Parramatta Eels 42-22 at GIO Stadium today.
Coach Brett White made one late change for the match, bringing in Zac Patch for Sato Ketia-Opo.
The Eels made a blistering start to the match under blue skies at GIO Stadium. An early penalty to the away side provided them with perfect field position, and hooker Reed Mahoney burst through sloppy defence to score the first four-pointer of the match.
A battle for field position then ensued, with the Raiders doing well to match the Eels huge forward pack. Half-way into the first half the Green Machine finally posted points, with hooker Jarred Tuite emulating his opposite number and crashing over for a try.
Some nimble footwork by Fijian flyer Mikaele Ravalawa provided the Raiders with back-to-back tries only moments later. Ravalawa burst down the right wing before passing inside to Andre Niko to stroll across under the posts.
Both teams traded tries late in the half, and it appeared the Raiders would head into the break with only a slim lead.
That was until halfback Lachlan Cooper produced a superb grubber that his fellow halves partner Logan Spaander was able to ground. Van Dartel converted his fourth of the half to give the Raiders a 24-10 lead at the break.
After setting up a try in the first half, Ravalawa grabbed one of his own only a few minutes into the second stanza.
The Eels began to mount a late comeback after Dom Murphy narrowed the scores to 12 points with a try, however, the Raiders defence held strong.
Seb Kris and Harry Van Dartel combined superbly late in the match to snatch the Raiders another couple of tries, while Hudson Young also got in on the act and grabbed his first NYC try.
The strong 42-22 victory delivered the Raiders their second win of the season and they will look to keep the momentum rolling when they take on the Gold Coast Titans next Saturday at Cbus Super Stadium.
Canberra Raiders 42 (Tuite, Niko, Madden, Spaander, Ravalawa, Kris, Van Dartel, Young. Van Dartel 5/8) defeated Parramatta Eels 22 (Mahoney, Layoun, Murphy, Aukafolau. Cryer 3/4)
