The Toyota Forklifts Canberra Raiders have secured their first victory at GIO Stadium Canberra this season, defeating the Melbourne Storm 26-22 in a tightly contested battle.
As the cold conditions settled in at GIO Stadium Canberra, the Raiders and Storm both took the field looking for their third win of the season through seven weeks.
With only their second use of the ball, the Raiders thought they had crossed for the opening try of the night after Hudson Young pounced on a loose carry from Storm winger Will Warbrick.
However, after being sent to the bunker for further review, officials found that the ball had touched two players in an accidental offside position.
It didn’t take long for the Raiders to create another opportunity, with Ethan Strange slicing his way through the defence on the following set, finding Simi Sasagi for the first four pointer of the night.
The Raiders were back on the front foot after the kick off, with Melbourne conceding a penalty deep in Canberra’s territory.
Canberra took full advantage of the opportunity with Corey Horsburgh crossing for the Raiders second, benefitting from a strong supporting play off the back of a last tackle kick chase.
Despite the early lead, Canberra gave away procession shortly after the restart, giving Melbourne their first attacking possession for the game.
Melbourne ensured they made the most of the opportunity, after Sua Faalogo beat the defence with his blistering speed for Melbourne’s opening points of the night.
With momentum now in their favour, the Storm found themselves on the attack again, after an error in the play-the-ball handed them possession within Canberra’s 20 metre line.
Melbourne’s right edge attack caused issues for the defence again, with Will Warbrick crossing for the Storm’s second try of the evening, shrinking Canberra’s lead to 12-10 after the opening 20 minutes.
The Storm looked certain to take the lead through a Warbrick double in the 22nd minute, however the play was called back following a forward pass from Faalogo.
Melbourne’s wealth of field position continued to prove detrimental for the Raiders defence, with Nick Meaney securing Melbourne’s first lead of the game in the 26th minute.
After enjoying a flurry of tries in the opening stages, both teams settled into a back-and-forth brand of rugby, knuckling down in search of the next opportunity.
In the dying stages of the half, the Raiders were unable to convert on back-to-back sets on Melbourne’s line, trailing the Storm 16-12 going into the sheds.
Returning from the break, Melbourne broke Canberra’s defence with their first use of the ball, before Simi Sasagi turned defence into attack, intercepting Cameron Munster and finding himself deep within the Storm’s half after a strong carry.
The Raiders continued to build pressure on Melbourne’s defensive line, forcing a goal line drop-out off the back of a last tackle kick.
It was Sasagi again who caused issues for the Storm, breaking a handful of tackles before finding Ethan Stange with a slick offload for the opening points of the second half, leveling scores at 16-all.
The Raiders settled into the Storm’s half following Sasagi’s try, continuously challenging Melbourne’s defence with every opportunity.
Having come agonisingly close only moments before, returning centre Matthew Timoko grabbed his opportunity with both hands, powering over the line for the Raiders fourth try of the night.
The Raiders looked to have found their groove in attack, with Hudson Young producing a flick pass to put Sebastian Kris down the left edge, and into Melbourne’s half once again.
Following an escort penalty conceded by Trent Loiero, Ethan Sanders took the opportunity to extend Canberra’s lead to eight, converting a penalty goal in the 57th minute.
A dropped ball off the back of a kick from Melbourne wasn’t enough to swing momentum, with Canberra aiming up in defence and continuing to force errors out of the Storm’s attack.
Sanders extended Canberra’s lead with his left boot again, following a decline in Melbourne’s discipline continuously afforded the home team opportunities.
Having been on the back foot for the majority of the half, Melbourne ensured the game would go down to the wire, with Nick Meaney benefitting from a Faalogo linebreak, bringing the score to 26-22 with five and half minutes to go.
The Raiders invited the Storm right back into their half, after kicking the ball out on the full off the restart, however, as was the case for most of the half, Canberra continued to show up in defence.
The Raiders looked certain to have scored the match sealing try through Zac Hosking in the 78th minute, before the Bunker found Hudson Young to have committed foul play in the lead up.
Surviving a final roll of the dice from Melbourne’s attack, the Raiders held on to secure their third win of the season, and first at home, defeating the Melbourne Storm 26-22.
