The Canberra Raiders have gone down to the Parramatta Eels 22-16 in what was a very close match at TIO Stadium on Saturday night.
Despite an energetic first half from the Green Machine, four consecutive tries to the Eels allowed them back into the game late on in very humid conditions.
The Raiders took the lead early on after Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad blasted through the Eels defensive line and crossed with ease just three minutes in.
Twelve minutes later Jack Wighton managed to barge his way through the Eels defence from dummy-half and double the Raiders’ lead.
Nine minutes before half-time a perfectly-timed kick from Aidan Sezer towards the wing saw Sebastian Kris take a great catch and crash his way over for a try.
The Eels got one back just six minutes later through Manu Ma’u, who spotted a gap in the Raiders defence and sprinted through to score.
A try from Eels’ winger Blake Ferguson just before the buzzer meant the Green Machine went into the sheds with a four-point lead.
A very quiet second-half suddenly erupted after Ferguson intercepted the ball and ran 80 metres to score and put the Eels in front for the first time in the match.
Four minutes later the Eels extended their lead after Mitchell Moses spotted a gap and made it past the Raiders defence to score.
Despite showing glimpses of scoring opportunities, the Raiders were unable to capitalise after calls and mistakes didn’t go their way.
Late attacking surges from the Raiders eventually lead to nothing, ultimately going down in a very tight match.
Parramatta Eels 22 (Tries:2 Ferguson, Ma’u, Moses. Goals: Moses 3/4) def.
Canberra Raiders 16 (Tries: Nicoll-Klokstad, Wighton, Kris. Goals: Croker 2/3)
