Raiders claim strong win over Warriors at home

The Canberra Raiders took no time at all to find the try line, with Elise Simpson finishing off a short side raid on the fifth tackle for her first four pointer of the season.

New recruit Sheridan Gallagher showed her class with the boot, slotting a sideline conversion to take an early 6-0 lead.

Canberra took full advantage of the early momentum, scoring on just their next possession with the footy, this time through a diving effort from Mackenzie Wiki in the opposite corner.

Confidence with ball in hand was the driving factor for the Raiders early, once again backing a shift out to the left edge on fifth tackle in the 14th minute, as Bobbi Law charged her way through two tackles for Canberra’s third of the afternoon.

New Zealand continuingly invited Canberra onto their doorstep, as handling errors and a lack of discipline in defence plagued any chances of fighting their way back into the match.

Introduced into the contest only seconds beforehand, Grace Kemp powered her way to the line to score with her first touch of the game, pushing Canberra’s lead to 18-0

Finally finding themselves inside the Raiders 20 metres, hooker Capri Paekau caught the markers on their haunches, darting from the base of the ruck for the Warriors first points of the afternoon.

While a handful of Canberra errors invited New Zealand into the contest, the Raiders defence held strong to lead 18-6 heading into the break.

Following a back-and-forth encounter to start the second half, Wiki put her strength on full display, carrying Warriors defenders over the line for her second of the afternoon.

Having had her struggles with the boot in the first half, Gallagher nailed her second for the afternoon, once again from the sideline to extend Canberra’s lead to 24-6.

Having rediscovered their confidence in attack, Jordyn Preston ran a beautiful line off the back of Zahara Temara’s ball playing, bolting her way for the Raiders sixth try of the match.

As had been in the first half, tries were coming in bunches for the Raiders with a Leianne Tufuga run back against the grain proving too difficult for New Zealand’s defence.

Gallagher’s strong return from the sheds with the boot continued, converting 3/3 in the second half to lead 36-6.

New Zealand refused to lay down their gloves despite the heavy deficit, with Ocean Tierney benefitting from a strong kick chase for the Warriors second of the afternoon.

The Raiders seemed to have a response for everything thrown their way, immediately responding with a four pointer of their own, as Chante Temara burrowed her way to the line to bring the Raiders tally to 42 points for the afternoon.

In what was the final play of the game, Ocean Tierney showed her desire for the line once again, racing through to gather another kick from Patricia Maliepo for New Zealand’s third try.

As the siren sounded over GIO Stadium, Canberra players and fans rejoiced having completed a 2-0 start to the season and winning their first home game to sit within the top four.