The NRLW Canberra Raiders have won against the Newcastle Knights 25-18 at McDonald Jones Stadium in a thrilling matchup.
With the Green Machine coming off a historic win in round six, they were looking to keep this winning momentum going.
Gaining a repeat set off the back of a penalty, Kiria Dibb clutched the first points of the match for the Knights, deceiving the Raiders’ defence to break through on her own.
Newcastle used their captain's challenge early in the match, which saw the tackle count reset to zero and Newcastle retaining possession.
Not long after, off the back of a scrum, Shanice Parker extended the Knights' lead to 10-0 following some right-edge ballwork and breaking through the Raiders’ lacklustre defence.
After a period of back-and-forth football and multiple errors from both teams, the Raiders were gifted a scoring opportunity minutes before the half-time siren after the Knights conceded a penalty for a knock-on. With quick hands, young gun Elise Simpson went over on the left edge to make the score 10-4.
Leading into the second half, the Raiders were hopeful to get some points on the board to retain their top six position.
But the Knights were proving to be an attacking threat by putting pressure on the Raiders' defence, with Mercedes Taulelei-Siala making a linebreak and scoring with quick hands off the back of a Tenika Willison try assist.
Following a knock-on from the kick, the Raiders had the chance to close the deficit further; however, it was just too far from Isabella Waterman losing the ball just shy of the try line.
Concerns for Sheridan Gallagher as she was seen limping after a dangerous tackle in the 48th minute. As a result of this, Sidney Taylor was sent to the sin bin .
In response, through slick ball movement, the Raiders went over for four through the hands of Mackenzie Wiki to close the deficit 14-8.
The Raiders backed this up not long after, following Zahara Temara’s quick hands, which got the ball down to Elise Simpson for her to score with no Knights in sight.
And the Raiders continued to score the points after Sophie Holyman barged through the Knights defence to just edge over under the posts.
But this lead didn’t even last one tackle as the Knights immediately responded through Tenika Willson stretching over on the left edge following a knock-on from the Raiders.
With less than five minutes to go and the scores locked at 18-all, it was anyone’s game; however, it was Zahara Temara who sealed the deal with a field goal.
But the Raiders weren’t done. With a repeat set being awarded, Sophie Holyman scored her first career double, going one-on-one with the Knights defence to extend their lead to 25-18 and make that the final score.
With now two victories under their belt, the Raiders will head to Sydney next Saturday to face off against the Bulldogs.
