Raiders outlast Panthers in heated affair

v BYE

Canberra withstood a late onslaught from the Panthers to run out 30-22 victors in a game marred by injuries at Canberra Stadium in front of 11,297 fans.

A hot afternoon in the nation's capital, produced an entertaining contest that came down to one final moment of magic. Shaun Fensom streaking away to seal a nervy win for the Green Machine after a dogged Panthers team took them to the wire.

The Green Machine were on-fire in the first half, new halves pairing, Blake Austin and Aidan Sezer combined to put on three tries. First Austin was able to spot the opportunity down the shortside and sent Edrick Lee over in the corner. Austin continued where he left off in 2015, with some trickery to extend the Raiders lead to ten. His partner Aidan Sezer touched down in the 26th minute to give them a healthy lead.

Penrith were spurred on by the work at the back from Will Smith had a fine game, deputizing for Matt Moylan started with his kick returns. His return gave the Panthers the space to find new signing, Trent Merrin just beside the post to get their first points of the afternoon. The Panthers added a 37th minute effort from Peta Hiku after some slick-and-swift ball movement to open the hole. Soward added a final penalty goal to end a frantic half 16-all.

Buoyed by their momentum, Panthers were the first on the sheet after the resumption. They camped in the Raiders half for the opening five minutes and Jamie Soward took on the line before it found it's way to Josh Mansour to touch down for 22-16.

After the frantic nature of the first stanza, the second was more cautious as the heat subsided but the injuries mounted. Canberra lost five-eighth Blake Austin to a leg injury while Penrith lost hooker James Segeyaro to an arm injury. More pressure fell on the new man Sezer, and the half took it upon himself to find the line to restore parity.

Jarrod Croker added two penalty goals which prodded the lead to four but left them nervous for the last fifteen minutes as the heat sapped all 34 players energy. The Raiders inability to hold onto the ball opened the door for the Panthers but they weren't able to take advantage as Peta Hiku was taken ball-and-all to seal the two points.

It would be powerhouse forward Shaun Fensom with the final say though, as he shrugged through some tired defense to crown a gritty display from the home side, and a 30-22 victory.

Next week the Panthers head home up the Hume Highway to host Canterbury on Thursday night, while the Raiders don't move from Bruce - they host the Roosters in the same timeslot exactly a week from now.