Raiders score big win over Dragons to kick off 2026 NRLW season

With multiple girls debuting for the Raiders, it was also Simaima Taufa’s 50th NRLW game, and the team were keen to get the win for not only their co-captain but to begin their season the right way.

With a knock on from Zahara Temara in the opening seconds, the Dragons made some strong metres in their opening set, but it was Teagan Berry in the first minute who put it down just on the white line out of a pass from Ruby-Jean Kennard-Ellis in dummy half.

A charge down from Zahara Temara not long after saw the team off and racing to gain possession, and Temara won that race; however was dragged out over the sideline by the Red V defence.

With the Raiders looking to clutch their first points for the season, a dummy half pass from Zahara Temara saw her have multiple opportunities in the Raiders' attack.

But it was Sheridan Gallagher who came through and linked up with fellow club debutant Bobbi Law, who scored cleanly in the corner for her first points in Raiders’ colours.

A missed conversion by Zahara Temara saw the score locked at 4-all.

Right on half-time, the Raiders were right in front of the posts with an opportunity to score.

Chante Temara sparked the play with a pass from dummy half that was taken by Grace Kemp, who muscled her way through multiple Dragons’ defenders to score right under the black dot.

These crucial points saw the score sit 10-4 in Canberra's favour going into the sheds.

With the Raiders kicking off the action for the second half, it was hit-after-hit from the Green Machine with everything left on the turf.

The Raiders were gifted a strong attacking opportunity through Elise Simpson on the edge, making a linebreak and splitting the game wide open.

Through sharp passes across the field, Krystal Blackwell kicked for herself and split the gap to score however, it was called back for offside.

But the Raiders didn’t let that stop them, with Mackenzie Wiki finding momentum and an opportunity on the edge to score in the 48th minute.

This extended the Raiders’ lead to 14-4.

The Green Machine were gifted a successful penalty goal in the 58th minute by Sheridan Gallagher late in the second half.

The Dragons went down to 12 players in the final minutes of the match after a high tackle from Tahila O’Brien saw her sent to the sin-bin.

To seal the deal, spinning and twisting through the Dragons’ defence, Simaima Taufa powered over on her own to cross over right under the posts in her special milestone game. She did attempt to convert her own try but was unsuccessful.

With the Raiders putting together an impressive all-round performance, the final score remained 20-4 at fulltime.

The Raiders will travel back to Canberra in the winner’s circle and will seek to go back-to-back against the Warriors next Sunday at GIO Stadium.