A disappointing Sunday afternoon for the Canberra Raiders with their NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg sides suffering defeats against the Panthers at BlueBet Stadium.
NSW Cup
The Canberra Raiders were outperformed by a strong Penrith Panthers outfit in round seven, going down 44-12 in the NSW Cup on Sunday afternoon.
Despite the disappointing result, fullback Albert Hopoate was a standout for the Raiders running 162 metres including a team-high 60 post contact metres.
It took no time at all for the first placed Panthers side to hit the scoreboard with winger Thomas Jenkins crossing over in just the first minute of play. Penrith followed it up quickly with another two tries in the opening 15 minutes to take a 16-0 lead.
The rest of the first half was dominated by the home side taking a convincing 28-point lead into halftime.
It wasn’t until the 58th minute that the Raiders registered their first points with Jarrod Croker scoring for the second consecutive week. Croker converted his own try to make it 34-6.
Penrith followed Croker’s try with a strong ten minute period to seal the win, scoring two more tries to take themselves out to a 38-point lead.
Raiders lock Peter Hola scored the final try of the game in the 76th minute.
Canberra will be looking to bounce back from this result when they face the fourth placed Parramatta Eels at Kellyville Park on Sunday at 3pm.
Jersey Flegg
The Canberra Raiders’ Jersey Flegg side went down to the Panthers on Sunday afternoon at BlueBet Stadium, suffering a 64-16 loss.
Penrith got off to the perfect start with centre William Fakatoumafi scoring the opening try of the match in the third minute to get his side out to an early 6-0 lead.
Canberra were able to answer back with quick tries through Steven Numambo in the ninth minute and Eneseli Kamuta in the 12th. Mitchel Souter went one from two on conversion attempts to put the Raiders ahead 10-6.
But unfortunately it was all Penrith for the rest of the first half, with the home side running in five unanswered tries to take the score out to 28-10 at halftime.
Needing a big second half performance to get back into the game, the Raiders got off to the ideal start with Souter crossing over in the 43rd minute. Following his conversion, Canberra were within 12-points of the Panthers.
Fakatoumafi was able to counter the Raiders strong start by extending the Penrith lead once again with his third try of the game in the 54th minute. His try sparked the momentum for the Panthers to run away with the victory with Penrith finishing the match with four unanswered tries.
Canberra will now shift their attention to the Parramatta Eels, who they will face at Kellyville Park next Sunday at 1.15pm.
