It was a mixed weekend of results for the Canberra Raiders junior representatives teams in their games against Manly.
SG Ball
Canberra 34 (D Spencer 2, A Niko 2, L Burton, L Cooper, S Ketia-Opo tries; Ketia-Opo 3 goals) def Manly 10 (M Fainu, B Benjamin tries; B Ramien goal)
SG Ball continued their undefeated start to the season with a decisive victory over Manly.
"The Raiders SG Ball side travelled to Brookvale with only 16 available players for the game. The team has been battling a spate of injuries that have affected the continuity of the side. On top of this are two very long road trips back to back for Canberra. The team were adamant that whoever the next man up is will commit to doing the job required when called upon." Head Coach Dean Souter said.
"The team committed to the job at hand, starting very well and getting into the grind before earning their points. The defensive attitude is something this group is very focused on, working hard at the small things that ultimately make a big difference in games.
"The SG Ball team would like to thank Kali Tanesi for backing up from Harold Matthews as our 17th man on the weekend. He played 28 minutes on top of a full game for his own side and did a great job."
CLICK HERE to see the SG Ball ladder.
Harold Matthews
Manly 28 (A Hopoate 2, S Afeaki, S Vaiveleta, M Lehmann tries; H Wilson 4 goals) def Canberra 18 (A Punou, D Goodwin, J Roberts tries; K Jensen 3 goals)
Harold Matthews were left to rue a slow start which saw them down 22-6 at half-time.
"Manly started the game really strongly scoring in their first set. Our boys were a bit slow out of the gates and let ourselves down with some defensive mistakes which Manly capitalised on," Head Coach Adam Kyle said.
"At half-time we talked about trading sets and trying to fix our defence to stop the Manly outside backs. We achieved this and ended up winning the second half 12-6.
"Manly are a great team with some outstanding athletes. It was a great opportunity for us to be in the contest wth them. We will take away a lot of positives and a few things to work on this week."
CLICK HERE to see the Harold Matthews ladder.
Round 4
Harold Matthews - Canberra Raiders v Western Suburbs Magpies, Saturday 5th March, 12.00pm, Raiders Belconnen
SG Ball - Canberra Raiders v Western Suburbs Magpies, Saturday 5th March, 1.30pm, Raiders Belconnen
