The Canberra Raiders took on the Cronulla Sharks in Round 6 of the Junior Representative season, with our Harold Matthews (Under 16's) registering a 20-all draw and our SG Ball (Under 18's) side coming away with a 28-24 victory.
Harold Matthews (Under 16’s)
The Canberra Raiders Harold Matthews side has overcome a 14-0 deficit at half-time to register a 20-all draw with the Cronulla Sharks at Seiffert Oval.
Canberra came out of the blocks slowly from the outset and Cronulla punished them for doing so by racing in three quick tries.
“We seemed a bit flat early on and lacked concentration,” Coach Adam Kyle said. “The Sharks came out really strong in the first half and the boys didn’t match up to what we asked of the lads.”
The Green Machine were a vastly different team in the second stanza, much to the admiration of the coaching staff.
“At half-time we asked the team to stick to our game plan and if we did that the right performance would come up,” Kyle said.
“Considering we were down 14-0 at the break I was really happy that we came away with some sort of result. Regardless of if we won the game or not, it was great to see them take those points on and respond like they did.
“It was a tremendous effort to come back against a very strong Sharks team who put 40 on Newcastle the week before.”
The draw sees the Raiders resigned to 10th place on the ladder and they will need a much improved performance next weekend against the second placed Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
Despite the differential in ladder rankings, Kyle is optimistic leading into the encounter due to the tenacity of his players and their drive to improve.
“This team is still learning every week and we always ask them to keep developing,” Kyle said. "One of the things with this bunch of players is we never give up. There have been some really hard times this season and every time we have had to stand up and respond we have.
“This weekend will be a very tough game against the undefeated Bulldogs and we need to be better. We will not be able to give them a start or they will punish us. This week there will be a big focus on putting an all-round performance together.”
The match against the Bulldogs takes place on Saturday at 1:00pm at Belmore Sports Ground.
CANBERRA RAIDERS 20 (Seb Kris 2, Alifeleti Ngahe, Jesse Dent tries; Nitau Jr Soli, Dent goals) drew with CRONULLA SHARKS 20 (Jaeman Salmon, Semisi Kioa, Jack Gould, Pita Toamotu tries; Luke Metcalf 2 goals)
SG Ball (Under 18’s)
The Canberra Raiders have continued their unbeaten run in the SG Ball competition with a four point win over the Cronulla Sharks at home.
The 28-24 victory not only consolidates the Green Machine’s place in the top four after six rounds, but sees them ascend to second place on the ladder, just one point behind the ladder leading Balmain Tigers.
Canberra began the match well and went into the sheds with a 16-4 lead at half-time after three well-worked tries.
Whilst Cronulla managed to claw their way back into the contest in the second stanza, two further tries by the Raiders was enough to close the game out.
The Raiders take on the 13th placed Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs next Saturday at 2:30pm at Belmore Sports Ground.
CANBERRA RAIDERS 28 (Tre Williams, William Samuel, Stanley Takalua, Nick Cotric, Jake Notaras tries; Andre Niko, Cotric 3 goals) bt CRONULLA SHARKS 24 (Curtis Scott, Jack Williams, Daniel Vasquez, Jesse Savage tries; Tony Matautia, Williams 3 goals)
