It was a brilliant Sunday afternoon at Kellyville Park for the Canberra Raiders NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg sides, with both teams recording big victories.
NSW Cup
The Canberra Raiders were far too good for Parramatta in the NSW Cup, leading from start to finish to come out 28-4 winners in Kellyville on Sunday afternoon.
The match got off to the perfect start for Canberra as winger Albert Hopoate crossed over in just the 14th minute, giving the Raiders an early lead. Jarrod Croker made no mistake with the boot, bringing the lead to 6-0.
Just six minutes later Hopoate would go over again, scoring his second of the match to extend the early advantage to double digits.
NSW Cup Highlights: Raiders v Eels
As if like clockwork Croker would score his first six minutes later, as the centre converted his own try to leave the Raiders up 18-0 in the 26th minute.
Neither team would bother the scorers for the remaining quarter hour, with Parramatta heading into the sheds three converted tries down.
After a tough first 20 minutes it was the Eels who got a try back, with Samuel Loizou crossing over in the 59th minute to pull the Raiders lead back to 14.
Those dreams of a comeback were however short-lived, as a James Schiller try in the 67th minute left the scores at 22-4 with under 15 minutes remaining.
Trey Mooney scored his fourth of the season to seal the win late, crossing over in the 74th minute with Croker kicking the two to leave the final score at 28-4.
The Raiders won’t be in action again until the 22nd of May with consecutive bye weekends, next playing South Sydney Rabbitohs in Dubbo.
Jersey Flegg
The Canberra Raiders were able to comfortably defeat the Eels on Sunday in the Jersey Flegg competition, coming out 30-6 winners in Kellyville.
It was the Green Machine who got the scoring underway, with Kaden Williams crossing over in the fourth minute before Jed Stuart scored his first of the day in the sixth minute.
One of those tries would be converted by Sione Vuki, leaving Canberra 10-0 up after just eight minutes.
The tries didn’t stop there as Brad Morkos crossed in the 14th minute, with Vuki again making no mistake with the boot to extend the lead to 16-0.
Parramatta were next to score, as Larry Muagututia collected his team’s first try in the 26th minute to pull the Eels back into the game. Their try was converted as the squads headed into the sheds with the scores at 16-6.
It was Canberra who were able to score first after the break, with winger Steven Numambo crossing over in the 42nd minute to take the lead to 20-6.
After nearly 20 minutes without a try the Raiders were able to seal the result as Morkos scored his second of the game, leaving the Eels trailing 24- 6 points with only 10 minutes remaining.
Vuki ensured that any unlikely comeback would not occur as he scored in the 64th minute, converting his own try to leave the final score at 30-6.
Similar to the NSW Cup side the Jersey Flegg Raiders team will now have two weekends off with the bye, coming up against South Sydney Rabbitohs on May 21st.
