Friday night footy: Raiders v Storm live blog

Still got it: Jason Taumalolo had 12 runs for 139 metres and was a handful all night for the Panthers. The veteran forward is still playing with plenty of passion and will be a key man in Todd Payten's pack in 2026. Matt Lodge was also strong with nine runs for 110 metres.

Full-time: The Cowboys have piled on 12 tries for a big crowd in Mackay and the young Panthers showed plenty of ticker to win the second half 24-22. The Cowboys' big guns all stood tall in the first half before being placed in cotton wool for Las Vegas.

79 min: A rare try for Thomas Mikaele who surges through three defenders to round the scoring for the night. Mikaele has gone 89 NRL games without scoring a try but he has one in the Pre-Season Challenge as the Cowboys take the lead out to 42 points. Cowboys 66-24.

77 min: A double for Keahn Skipps courtesy of a quality offload from Jakeb Vailalo as the Panthers continue to fight the game out to the end. Zakauri Clarke converts. Cowboys 60-24.

71 min: The Panthers come up with a long-range special as Keahn Skipps creates space for Zakauri Clarke on the left edge and then backs up on the inside to sprint away and score. Clarke showed great speed for a big man and delivered a perfectly timed pass back inside for Skipps. Cowboys 60-18.

68 min: A great moment for Jirah Liddiard who snaffles an intercept and shows a clean pair of heels to run 80 metres and score. Zakauri Clarke converts. Cowboys 60-12.

65 min: Back-up hooker Soni Luke comes up with a neat grubber out of dummy half and Kai O'Donnell follows through to grab himself a hat-trick. Jake Clifford misses the conversion. Cowboys 60-6.

61 min: Robert Derby flies high to compete for a bomb against Braye Porter and the ball spills to Kai O'Donnell who grabs his second try of the night. Cowboys 56-6.

60 min: The drinks break is taken on the back of a mistake by Haami Loza with the Panthers pressing the Cowboys line.

53 min: Jaxon Purdue takes the ball to the line and finds Kai O'Donnell who surges through Kurt Falls' tackle to post the Cowboys' ninth try. Liam Sutton is the new kicker and lands the extras. Cowboys 50-6.

47 min: Tua Patea looks to sneak over from dummy half on a narrow short side but is forced into touch by the Cowboys defence.

43 min: A great start to the second half for Penrith with Patrick Moimoi showing plenty of strength to keep two defenders at bay before flicking a pass to Jesse McLean for a try in the corner. Kurt Falls nails the sideline conversion. Cowboys 44-6.

Cue in the rack: Big guns Tom Dearden, Scott Drinkwater and Reed Mahoney have been given a spell and will watch the second half from the bench. Next stop, Vegas.

Making a stand: The Panthers spent the majority of the first half on the defensive but Billy Scott, Zakauri Clarke and Billy Phillips could hold their heads high with 76 tackles between them.

Reed rips in: A sensational start in Cowboys colours for crafty No.9 Reed Mahoney who had two try assists and two line breaks and looked dangerous every time he took off out of dummy half. Mahoney combined brilliantly with Tom Dearden and the likes of Scott Drinkwater and Murray Taulagi were the beneficiaries.

Half-time: Plenty of positives for the Cowboys in their final hit-out before Las Vegas with eight tries racked up and a completion rate of 92 per cent. The Cowboys had 73 per cent of possession and chalked up nine line breaks to zero.

40 min: The Cowboys put an exclamation mark on a dominant half with a try to Murray Taulagi courtesy of an inside pass from Scott Drinkwater who bangs over the conversion. Cowboys 44-0.

40 min: Panthers centre John Fonua cops a head knock as he attempts a front-on tackle and is forced from the field for a HIA which he passed.

36 min: With Reed Mahoney and Tom Dearden running riot the Cowboys are too classy for the Panthers and it's Heilum Luki who crosses on the right edge courtesy of a short ball from Dearden. Cowboys 38-0.

33 min: Jake Clifford goes short side and puts in a grubber which pinballs around and bounces back to the Cowboys No.6 who crosses for his second try. Scott Drinkwater hangs the conversion out to the left. Cowboys 32-0.

27 min: Cowboys centre Zac Laybutt is placed on report and sin binned for a lifting tackle after the Panthers player had released the ball.

26 min: Jason Taumalolo comes up with the Cowboys' first error of the night and the Panthers work their way upfield.

22 min: The set scrum after the break sees Reed Mahoney pick the ball up at the base of the scrum and find Jake Clifford who slides over in the corner. Scott Drinkwater converts. Cowboys 28-0.

22 min: The first drinks break of the night in the steamy conditions of Mackay with the Panthers again under pressure at their own end after a mistake by Jesse McLean. The Cowboys are 13 of 13 sets at 100 per cent to start the night.

17 min: Murray Taulagi brings down a bomb and sets sail for the line but the Panthers manage to hold him up and they come away with a 20m tap.

14 min: The early onslaught continues with Jaxon Purdue finding space before his pass is knocked down by the Panthers but the ball spills free to Braidon Burns who crosses for his second. Scott Drinkwater curls the conversion in from left to right. Cowboys 22-0.

12 min: Star recruit Reed Mahoney stamps his class on the game when he goes to the short side and puts Scott Drinkwater into a hole for the Cowboys' third try. Drinkwater converts. Cowboys 16-0.

10 min: Some enterprising play from the Panthers with Nick Murphy climbing high to claim a bomb and offloading to Zakauri Clarke who kicks infield but the Cowboys shut it down.

6 min: A second try for the Cowboys when Jake Clifford's grubber eludes Jaxen Edgar and Jaxon Purdue picks up the scraps to score. Scott Drinkwater converts. Cowboys 10-0.

3 min: Braidon Burns crosses in the corner after slick hands from big guns Tom Dearden and Scott Drinkwater. A mistake by the Panthers coming out of their own end opened the door for the Cowboys and they pounced. Cowboys 4-0.

Late Mail

Cowboys: Englishman John Bateman has been ruled out with a wrist injury. 

Panthers: Ivan Cleary's squad remains unchanged for the clash in Mackay.

 

Raiders v Storm at Seiffert Oval

Here comes Hugo: Storm fullback Hugo Peel is expected to push hard for a spot in Craig Bellamy's best 17 in 2026 and he had plenty of quality touches at Seiffert Oval. The flyer ran for 82 metres and had a couple of tackle breaks as he showcased his pace and power in a quality display. Winger Luke Cesari was also strong with 133 metres from 12 runs while Marion Seve had five tackle breaks.

Prop stars: Sam Hyne (16 runs for 127 metres) and Vena Patuki-Case (12 runs for 127 metres) were strong up front for Canberra while speedsters Chevy Stewart and Michael Asomua combined for 23 runs and 220 metres.

Full-time: The Raiders make the ideal start to their Witzer Pre-Season Challenge campaign with a comfortable 26-point win. Some nice touches from young playmakers Jalen Afamasaga and Ethan Alaia while senior players Seb Kris and Daine Laurie also impressed.

78 min: Jalen Afamasaga evades a defender with neat footwork and then sends a 20-metre pass out to Sione Finau who completes his double. Braydan Darmody takes over the goalkicking and hits the upright. Raiders 32-6.

73 min: The Storm are on the board with Jordan Hamlin scheming down the short side and putting Liam Williams over for a try. Amaziah Murgha converts. Raiders 28-6.

72 min: Storm five-eighth Eli Morris is caught high by Mark Tuialii who is sent to the sin bin. Eli was slipping to the ground as Tuialii rushed up to make a tackle and contact was high.

68 min: Seb Kris takes the ball 20 metres out and shows great power and footwork to surge over for Canberra's sixth try of the night. Chevy Stewart adds the extras. Raiders 28-0.

66 min: Raiders big man Vena Patuki-Case gets over the line and is held up on the fifth tackle. The Raiders then go to the boot on the last but the Storm are able to cover up and come away.

59 min: Sione Finau grubbers and Seb Kris toes the ball into the in goal where Eli Morris shows good desperation to win the race and ground the ball. Storm dropout.

54 min: Jalen Afamasaga takes the ball one off the ruck and shows good speed to slice through and cross for a try from 20 metres out. Ethan Alaia nails the Raiders' first conversion. Raiders 22-0.

51 min: The Raiders swing the ball to the left and Seb Kris attracts two defenders before delivering a sweet flick pass for Sione Finau to score. Twelve months ago Finau bagged four tries in the Charity Shield for the Dragons and now the speedster is looking for a big season with his new club. Ethan Alaia again misses the conversion from wide out. Raiders 16-0.

45 min: A sensational overhead pass by playmaker Ethan Alaia for Saxon Innes to cross in the corner for the Raiders' third try. Alaia fails to convert. Raiders 12-0.

44 min: Marion Seve gets across the line for the Storm but loses the ball as he tries to get it down. The Raiders scoop it up and run 80 metres before Sione Finua is ankle tapped and the referee is able to go to the video ref to confirm 'no try'. 

Forward momentum: Vena Patuki-Case (seven runs for 84 metres and three tackle breaks) and Joe Roddy (14 runs for 95 metres) were impressive for the Raiders while centre Savelio Tamale proved a handful with six tackle breaks and 75 run metres.

Half-time: The Raiders take an 8-0 lead to the sheds on the back of a Michael Asomua double. The Green Machine had 58 per cent of possession and had 22 sets with the ball compared to Melbourne's 18.

36 min: The Raiders go right and the ball ends up with Michael Asomua who powers through a couple of tackles from 30 metres out to make it a double. Chevy Stewart again pushes the conversion to the right. Raiders 8-0.

32 min: A poor end of set by the Storm as Alan Holten goes on his own out of dummy half and is easily shut down.

31 min: Ethan Alaia kicks out on the full for the Raiders and the Storm go inside the red zone.

29 min: Michael Asomua flies high and gets a good catch on a bomb but spills it just short of the Storm line. A penalty for a high shot then piggybacks the Storm up the field.

25 min: Savelio Tamale's dancing feet put the Raiders within range but a wayward pass out of dummy half by Owen Pattie lets the Storm off the hook.

23 min: Raiders prop Sam Hyde powers onto the ball from close range and is held up over the line by some desperate Storm defence.

19 min: First blood to the Raiders with Daine Laurie putting in a perfectly weighted grubber for Michael Asomua to follow through and score in the right-hand corner. Chevy Stewart misses the conversion. Raiders 4-0.

17 min: Daine Laurie goes to the air, Hugo Peel takes the catch, Daine Laurie makes the tackle and forces the Storm No.1 in goal for a dropout.

16 min: On the back of a strong run by back-rower Cooper Clarke the Storm find good field position but Jordan Hamlin's kick is a poor one and sails out on the full.

12 min: Eli Morris puts a bomb into the corner where Michael Asomua covers up well and the Raiders earn a penalty to come out of trouble.

8 min: Marion Seve rides a tackle and gets a pass away which is knocked down by Daine Laurie. The Storm win the scrum and go on the attack but fullback Hugo Peel puts it down.

3 min: The Raiders get an early chance at points but centre Mark Tuialii is pinged for obstruction after running behind a teammate and the Storm come away on the back of a penalty.

Late Mail

Raiders: Ethan Alaia will start the game at five-eighth in jersey No.18. Jalen Afamasaga will come from the bench after being named at five-eighth on Tuesday. Englishman Matty Nicholson will captain the Raiders.

Storm: No late changes to the side named on Tuesday. New recruits Davvy Moale and Jack Hetherington are the props on club debut while Trent Loiero and Ativalu Lisati are the only members of the 2025 grand final side playing tonight.