The Raiders have suffered a heart breaking finish in their last home game of the season, with an 80th minute field goal seeing them fall to the Eels.
Both teams geared up to bounce back from last week’s defeats, while the Green Machine entered the match up determined to secure a finals position for the first time in Raiders NRLW history.
The Raiders kicked off the action in the chilly conditions with strong opening sets from both sides.
The Eels received an early penalty due to high contact that gifted them a full set inside the Raiders own half. Rory Owen seized the opportunity and slipped straight through the Canberra defence to score the opening try. Racheal Pearson converted the try and Parramatta were off to an early 6-0 lead.
The Raiders fought back and continued to showcase big hitups despite errors in discipline from both sides. However, Parramatta received the scrum feed 30m out from Canberra’s try line and the Eels forward pack was too strong. Boss Kapua forced her way over the line to score her first try in the NRLW and Pearson’s conversion left the visitors 12 points in front.
With 10 minutes left of the first half, the Raiders needed to dig deep and find the spark that got them to finals contention. Zahara Temara sent a deep kick down the field that gifted Canberra a second set inside the Eels half, but after relentless efforts, Bobbi Law’s try was held up over the line and the Raiders went into halftime trailing 12-0 to Parramatta.
The Raiders received the ball with confidence as the second half kicked off and they were immediately backed by an excited home crowd. The Green Machine put up a strong attacking set to open the half and followed it up with a try saving tackle back on the defence.
A penalty secured them a set from halfway and the speed of their attack was fierce. Jordyn Preston was tackled a metre out from the try line and Sheridan Gallagher saw an opportunity to dive over the line from dummy half. But the cheers were halted when the ball was held up once again.
The Raiders received a set restart and Gallagher used impressive speed to force her way over the line in a try that mirrored her previous attempt. Temara converted the try and the score narrowed to 12-6.
Canberra continued to push and hold the ball inside the Eels own half for repeat attacking and defensive sets. Their efforts were rewarded by Charlotte Basham, who scooped up the ball from the kick on the last tackle and scored the Raiders second try. Temara’s conversion failed to even the score and the Eels remained in front 12-10.
With 12 minutes left of play, Raiders Simaima Taufa was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous tackle. The Eels seized the opportunity and Owen was over the line to secure a double. The conversion attempt was unsuccessful and the Eels led 16-10.
With less than five minutes on the clock, the Raiders proved they still had plenty of fire left in them. Off the back of a scrum feed, Canberra attacked the line hard and sent the ball down to the left edge for Isabella Waterman to score in the corner. Temara added two points with an impressive conversion and the Raiders evened the score 16-all.
In the final second of the game, a field goal off Pearson’s boot secured Parramatta the 17-16 victory.
The Raiders will regroup and face the Tigers in Sydney next week for their final game of the regular season, where they will fight for their finals position.
