Raiders go down in tight loss to Titans

With both teams being afforded early field position off the back of a handful of errors on both sides of the ball, neither team were able to make an impression on the scoreboard.

Looking to play an expansive brand of footy, Canberra’s forward pack set a solid foundation in the middle of the field off the back of strong carries and physical defence.

Isabella Waterman took matters into her own hands in the 11th minute, soaring above Indie Bostock off the back of a pinpoint Zahara Temara bomb, before finding Elise Simpson on her outside for the opening points of the match.

Temara made no mistake from the left-hand sideline, nailing the conversion to bump the Raiders early lead to 6-0.

Despite having turned the Titans away on a number of occasions, there was no stopping Phoenix-Raine Hippi in the 19th minute off the back of a set piece play from the scrum.

Canberra struggled to wrestle back momentum following the Titans first points of the afternoon, handing the Titans strong field position off the back of a number of errors.

Destiny Mino-Sinapati finished off the Titans second try of the afternoon, ensuring the home team made the most of the bulk of possession.

Looking destined to add their third only minutes later, Sheridan Gallagher produced a stellar try saving effort, stripping the ball from Lauren Brown and halting any immediate threat.

This didn’t delay the Gold Coast’s charge for long, as Ivana Lolesio stormed to the line in the 32nd minute, before Brown kicked the Titans to a 14-6 lead.

Following another error deep in their own half, Canberra were unable to defuse the threat posed by the Titans, conceding a fourth try on the stroke of halftime to trail 18-6 heading into the sheds.

Having gone set for set to start the second half, it was the Gold Coast who struck first through Georgia Grey, picking up her second try of the match.

The Titans confidence was on display on both sides of the ball, aiming up in defence and refusing to give the Raiders an inch.

These consistent efforts transpired to a free-flowing approach with ball in hand, as the Titans continuously found space through both the middle of the field and on the edges.

Mino-Sinapati landed yet another blow to the Raiders in the 51st minute, with the Titans catching the Raiders right-edge defence in field.

Mackenzie Wiki broke the Titans flow of points in the 59th minute, after a pristine showing of hands from Leianne Tufuga placed her in the clear.

A missed conversion left Canberra staring at a 16-point deficit with just under 10 minutes remaining on the clock.

Tufuga and Wiki combined once again for the Raiders, as Wiki finished off a textbook spread across field from Canberra’s right edge.

Throwing caution to the wind as the siren sounded over Cbus Super Stadium, Wiki finished off a second half hattrick and shrunk the full-time score to 26-20.

The Raiders will return home to GIO Stadium next Sunday, as they look to strengthen their run to the finals against the Paramatta Eels.