The Raiders NYC side secured back to back wins for the first time this season with a convincing 38-14 over the Manly Sea Eagles.
The Sea Eagles started the stronger of the two sides, scoring a try in the left corner thanks to Tevita Funa. The winger leapt above the Raiders defence to catch Cust’s kick to score.
The Raiders fought their way back into the game and scored through second rower Jack Williams and didn’t look back. Moving the ball right to left, Spaander passed the ball on his inside which confused the Manly defence and allowed the second-rower to score.
Jack Hickson had the Raiders second four-pointer ten minutes before halftime when Nick Cotric drew in Manly’s winger before offloading to Hickson who scored in the corner.
Cotric scored himself only minutes later when he broke through the Manly line. Despite Manly’s best efforts they couldn’t chase down the 17-year-old centre, who scored in the corner.
Some clever work from Woolford saw the Raiders score another on the verge of halftime. After being awarded a penalty on halfway, Woolford noticed the Manly defence weren’t paying attention and quickly took the tap. The hooker sprinted through the line and with only the fullback to beat, passed to Van Dartel who scored. Faced with another touchline conversion, Woolford made no mistake to give the Raiders a 22-4 lead.
The Raiders continued where they left off and scored early in the second half through Van Dartel. A lovely cut-out pass hit its mark and the winger made no mistake to score.
Manly kept themselves in the match when Ramien drew in the defender allowing Price to score in the corner. The Sea Eagles kept themselves in the game when Cox powered over a few minutes later to make the score 26-14.
However, the Raiders responded through Thomas Cronan who darted through the Manly defence with some clever footwork. Right in front of the posts, Woolford made no mistake to kick his fourth conversion of the night.
Foster put the icing on the cake for the Raiders, capitalising on some indecision in the Manly line to score under the posts. Hartwig took over kicking duties with Woolford off the field to make the score 38-14.
Raiders 38 (Tries: Williams, Hickson, Cotric, Van Dartel 2, Cronan, Foster Conversions: Woolford 4/6 Hartwig 1/1) defeated Sea Eagles 14 (Tries: Funa, Price, Cox, Conversions: Coffin 1/3)
