Raiders show enough to down depleted Cowboys

v BYE

Canberra Raiders have put themselves within a point of the top four after a gritty 26-12 victory in front of 8,328 fans at Canberra Stadium. 

The Raiders put in a complete performance in downing a depleted Cowboys side led by a double to Jack Wighton. The fullback scored in the third minute to kick-off the scoring for the home side. He added a second try and some bone crunching last ditch tackles in a good performance for the custodian. 

North Queensland despite being without five origin representatives, put in a good shift to push the fifth placed Raiders the whole way. They responded to the early Wighton try but their own, as Coen Hess in his third NRL game lept high to make it 6-6. 

Penalties crueled the Cowboys throughout the first half, as the Raiders collected their second after they were caught offside. Aiden Sezer piloted a grubber into the posts and Josh Hodgson was on the spot to touchdown. Croker added a penalty goal to stretch the lead to eight just before the 20th minute.

The posts deliver the perfect bounce for the @RaidersCanberra!#NRLRaidersCowboys 12-6 after 16 minutes.#NRL pic.twitter.com/DZqZV5c5Uo
— NRL (@NRL) July 11, 2016

In a night for the hookers, just after the restart the Cowboys got themselves within two. Debutant Josh Chudleigh sprinted 40 metres to become the 15th player to score on debut this season, and the second this weekend. 

Once again though, penalties were the downfall of a youthful Cowboys outfit. They got themselves back into the game and then allowed the Raider a half dozen sets on the line which Wighton duly converted. Another Croker penalty goal put it out to eight points again. 

The Raiders finished off the contest in a professional manner, defending their line against some rugged Cowboys attack and counter attacked with their backline to get into position. This allowed Sezer to shrug off several defenders to put the game to bed. 

Jarrod Croker's haul of ten points tonight also pushed him past 1300 points in the NRL as the Raiders can rest up now with the bye before they start the march in the finals series. 

Both sides enjoy the bye next week post-Origin, with the Cowboys hosting fellow heavyweights Canterbury at 1300SMILES in Round 20 on Thursday night, and the Raiders at home again to the Warriors on the following Saturday afternoon.