The Toyota Forklifts Canberra Raiders have been defeated on the road 15-12 against the Parramatta Eels at Commbank Stadium.
After tough losses in Round 14, both teams were desperate for a win and came out of the sheds with strong, high-meterage establishing sets.
The Eels clutched the first four points 10 minutes into the match off the back of a dummy half run from Brian Kelly to Jordan Samrani, who fought off three Raiders defenders to score on the right edge.
Raiders halfback Ethan Sanders was sin-binned in the 23rd minute after tackling Kelly without the ball.
The Eels used the one-man advantage through Kelma Tuilagi off the back of short ball play, and a try assist from Isaiah Iongi.
The try was taken to the bunker for further assessment, however it was awarded and saw the Eels in front by eight points.
It was a rookie and veteran swap for the Green Machine in the 28th minute with Raider #412 Vena Patuki-Case running on for his NRL debut to replace milestone man Joe Tapine in his 250th NRL game.
The Green Machine thought they went in for their first points late in the first half with a try assist from Matt Timoko to Jed Stuart in the corner; however, it was disallowed after a Bunker review found lost possession from the winger.
Another try-scoring opportunity came in the dying seconds of the first half for the Raiders after a Sanders kick chase saw Xavier Savage with the ball in hand; however, the speedster just lost possession of the ball.
Parramatta responded to the Raiders' momentum through an unexpected field goal from Ronald Volkman with only 10 seconds left on the clock, taking a 9-0 lead into the half-time break.
Breaking through the Raiders' left edge in the 49th minute, Kitione Kautoga scored for the home side off the back of another try assist from Iongi. A Tallyn Da Sliva conversion make gave the home side a 15-nil lead.
Through some right-to-left ball work in the 61st minute, Jed Stuart made a break to pass back to Matt Timoko, who scored the Raiders first points of the match.
This saw the Raiders close the gap 15-6 following a Sanders conversion.
Daine Laurie showed his versatility after a linebreak turned try in the 68th minute. This saw only a three-point gap with 10 minutes to go, 15-12.
The Eels hung on in the dying minutes to claim the win.
The Raiders will return to Canberra to reset before their Round 16 Sunday afternoon clash against the Storm in Melbourne.
