Raiders thump Warriors

Canberra Raiders have smashed the New Zealand Warriors 32-12 in front of 10,800 patrons at Canberra Stadium.

As the scoreline suggests, the Warriors' defense left a lot to be desired, while the Raiders' attack had a field day.

It was all the Raiders in the first half as the Warriors struggled to keep up. Simon Mannering hoped to set the precedent for the match as he burst through the line in the opening minutes, but lost the ball in a tackle 40 out from the try line.

The Raiders opened up the scoring in the 15th minute through Reece Robinson. The home side were over again only three minutes later, this time through Jarrod Crocker who strolled past some lazy Warriors' defense. 

As the match progressed, the Warriors' defense showed clear signs of fatigue and it did not go past the Raiders, with Blake Ferguson scoring in the 27th minute. 

Jack Wighton strolled over for his first try less than ten minutes later, but Crocker missed his fourth straight conversion of the afternoon keeping the Raiders' lead to 16. 

The Warriors finally hit back only moments out from half time with Ben Henry scoring. James Maloney had much better luck with boot and added the extras to reduce the Raiders' lead to eight. 

The scoring in the second half did not get under way until the 58th minute, with Josh Papalii scoring courtesy of a Josh McCrone inside pass. 

The Warriors bridged the gap in the score line in the 66th minute, but it was not enough to spark the tired Warriors forwards and the Raiders were able to run away with the match. 

The Warriors will host South Sydney at Mt. Smart next Sunday and the Raiders will make the tough trip to Suncorp Stadium to play the Broncos.

Match Details
Canberra Raiders 32 defeated New Zealand Warriors 12
National Rugby League - Round 6 - Sunday April 8, 2012 2:00pm
Venue: Canberra Stadium
Referee: Shayne Hayne and Alan Shortall
Video Referee: Paul Mellor
Touch Judges: Dan Eastwood and Peter Gough
Crowd: 10800
Halftime: Canberra Raiders 16 New Zealand Warriors 6

Leagueunlimited.com players of the match:
3 Points - Reece Robinson (2 Tries)
2 Points - Shaun Berrigan
1 Point - Shaun Johnson

CANBERRA RAIDERS (32)
Tries: Reece Robinson (2), Jarrod Croker (2), Blake Ferguson, Josh Papalii, Jack Wighton
Conversions: Jarrod Croker (2/7)

NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS (12)
Tries: James Maloney, Ben Henry
Conversions: James Maloney (2/2)

LeagueUnlimited.com Live Commentary Join the conversation! Our forums are open for discussion 24/7 on the greatest game of all!

If you love Twitter, you'll love @LeagueUnlimited! Today's official NRL match hashtag is #NRLcanwar Happy Easter everybody - Both teams are now entering the arena.
CHANGES: Raiders - Shillington comes into the starting line up in jersey 20, Tilse to the bench! Warriors - Brown and Packer to start, Mateo and Mautilino to bench
1 min: We have kick off , Warriors first use
1 min: MANNERING GOES THROUGH THE LINE!
1 min: But he puts it down. Raiders scrum, 40m from their own line after a scare
1 min: Campese puts a kick in but it goes out on the full. Play the ball Warriors 15 metres out
2 min: Warriors working their way up field now
2 min: Maloney puts it down field and the Warriors defence wraps up the Raiders 20 metres out
4 min: A great kick from the Warriors' five eight James Maloney, he puts it out 4 metres from the Raiders line. Raiders scrum.
5 min: Warriors defence holding well.
6 min: Raiders kick the ball dead. 20 metre tap for the Warriors
7 min: An attacking kick goes up and Ferguson and Vatuvei both went for it, Manu came down but he is tackled. Hand over to Raiders 10 out.
7 min: McCrone puts a great kick in, scrum Warriors 20 metres from their line
9 min: Warriors get over halfway, Johnson puts up a massive bomb but Blake Ferguson grabs it and holds. Great work. Raiders ball 20 from their line
10 min: Campese kicks it down field and AGAIN it goes dead in goal. Is this a tactic or is he off today?
10 min: Lousi tries to offload to Fisiiahi but it goes pear shaped and they lose it.
11 min: Raiders 10 out from the Warriors line
11 min: Warriors defence hold out and they receive a play the ball. Handover.
12 min: Friend makes 12 metres from half. Great work.
12 min: Johnson kicks the ball into touch, scrum Raiders 10 metres out from their line.
14 min: VIDEO REF: Robinson claims a try after a 50 metre play. Berrigan passed out to Ferguson, who puts a kick in and the attackers race down and Robinson claims it.
15 min: TRY
TRY! It is awarded to Raiders fullback Reece Robinson! Jarrod Croker misses the kick.
Canberra Raiders 4-0
16 min: SIX TO GO! Raiders have the ball and a new set just metres from the Warriors line
18 min: TRY
TRY! All set up from some great work by Ferguson. Croker catches some lazy Kiwi defence with a dummy and a step, strolling over. He shanks his own kick and misses
Canberra Raiders 8-0
19 min: Warriors give the ball back to the Raiders and they storm into the line. 20 metres from the Canberra line 2nd tackle
19 min: Campese puts a massive kick in from his own 30 metre line, looking for a 40/20 but it just stays in. Warriors working it away from their own 10 metre line. 4th tackle
20 min: Johnson has a brain snap, a chip and chase attempt from his 30 metre line. Raiders ball, 40 out.
21 min: Warriors under the pump here. Not penalties yet either
21 min: AND MALONEY GOES STRAIGHT THROUGH AFTER PICKING UP A KICK, OFFLOADING FISIIAHI AND THEY ARE PULLED DOWN 50 0UT
22 min: WOW! GREAT RAIDERS DEFENCE. JOHNSON DID EVERYTHING BUT SCORE
22 min: Raiders have the ball back, they are now working it out. 2nd on their 10 metre line
23 min: Campese clears it and Fisiiahi has the ball for the Warriors
24 min: Knock on in the play the ball. Scrum Raiders 20 metres out. Warriors limping.
27 min: TRY
Blake Ferguson cruises over after a rushing Warriors Vatuvei puts his line under pressure, and a simple pass out to Ferguson from Berrigan and they have another try. Jarrod Croker misses again!
Canberra Raiders 12-0
27 min: Warriors give the ball back to the Raiders and Tilse is tackled 15 from his line
28 min: Raiders really putting the Warriors under pressure
28 min: And it is the live updaters curse as Sam Mataora drops it. Scrum Warriors 30 out from Raiders line
29 min: Packer stopped only by the posts
29 min: A kick from Maloney goes to Berrigan who takes it up field. After the play the ball the Raiders continue and get over half way
30 min: 20 metre tap after Tupou defuses a kick from Campese. Croker is down
31 min: Maloney ALMOST through, Robinson with a great tackle
31 min: Johnson puts the ball in goal, and Campese collects the ball and runs it dead. Drop out Warriors. 1-0
32 min: The ball is dropped by the Warriors and Ferguson runs it to the Warriors 20 metre line.
33 min: All of a sudden Raiders are 10 from the try line
33 min: Raiders knock it on, Warriors play their advantage and the Raiders get the feed after the Warriors returned the knock on
36 min: TRY
And the Raiders have another one. Some great movement from the Raiders before a final pass to Jack Wighton sees the green machine extend their lead. It is Jack Wighton's first NRL try. Jarrod Croker is demolishing his kicking record. 0/4.
Canberra Raiders 16-0
37 min: Warriors kick off goes down to Campese and he knocks it on. Scrum Warriors. Will the missed goals help the Warriors?
38 min: Warriors have the ball 10 metres out. 2nd tackle.
39 min: TRY
TRY WARRIORS! And just like that they hit back. Friend passes to Johnson, Johnson holds it up, Croker comes up out of the line and the final pass goes out to Ben Henry who crashes over. The former U20 captain's first try in the NRL! James Maloney kicks the first goal of the day.
Canberra Raiders 16-6
40 min: And that is all for the first half folks.
40 min: HERE WE GO AGAIN! Warriors kick off to the Raiders.
40 min: Raiders picking up where they left off, cutting the Warriors up.
41 min: Warriors have the ball, ten metres from their own line
41 min: Good signs from the Warriors.
42 min: The Canberra Raiders make a mistake 40 metres from their line.
43 min: Warriors lose the ball and the Raiders have it on their 30 metre line.
44 min: The Warriors are working it from their own try line now.
45 min: Under immense pressure from Manu 'The Beast' Vatuvei, Ferguson puts the ball down
46 min: The Warriors are 10 metres from the try line
46 min: And with promising signs, the Warriors drop it
47 min: Raiders win the scrum 10 from their line
48 min: INFRINGEMENT: Penalty Raiders. 1-0. Friend interferes in the ruck.
48 min: Raiders just over half way
49 min: A certain try bombed by a mistake from McCrone. Play the ball 10 metres out for the Warriors
50 min: Vatuvei gets the Warriors over halfway
50 min: Maloney kicks and Croker defuses it and they are working it from their 20 metre line the Raiders
51 min: Campese goes for another 40/20 but the Warriors shut it down
52 min: Warriors ball 10 metre from their line! Both teams panic and both teams knock it on.
52 min: Friend great metres out of half
53 min: Johnson puts it into touch, 11 metres from the Raiders line. Scrum Raiders
55 min: Raiders aiming up and the Warriors have the ball 30 out from their line
55 min: Raiders have the ball back 40 metres out from their line
58 min: TRY
McCrone gives a great inside ball to Josh Papalii who strolls over to score the try. Jarrod Croker converts his first.
Canberra Raiders 22-6
59 min: Raiders starting to cut the Warriors to bits.
60 min: Fisiiahi is dragged back into the in goal. Drop out Warriors. 2-0
60 min: Maloney kicks the ball 60 metres on the full from a drop out
61 min: The Raiders go close but Waddell loses it
62 min: Warriors into Raiders half
62 min: Reece Robinson catches the high ball from little pressure
63 min: The attacking kick is too large and a 20 metre tap for the Warriors
66 min: TRY
Shaun Johnson delivers a great flick pass to Maloney. A dummy for Johnson who goes through the line and does a step and flicks it to his halves partner. The try scorer converts.
Canberra Raiders 22-12
66 min: Raiders give the ball back to the Warriors. is this the start of something?
68 min: Warriors playing with more enthusiasm as the they go down the sideline and the only thing stopping a try is a forward pass from Vatuvei into his inside man.
70 min: TRY
Reece Robinson gets his second as that should end the game for the Warriors. Some quick feet at the line allowed him to go through the line. Jarrod Croker misses once more. 1/6
Canberra Raiders 26-12
71 min: The short kick off gives the Warriors the ball back
71 min: INFRINGEMENT: Penalty Warriors. 1-1. Offside at acting half
72 min: A rushed pass that goes into touch gives the Raiders the two competition points.
73 min: Raiders working it away now
74 min: SIx to go: McCrone chips, regathers, tries to pass but Warriors bat it down
77 min: TRY
Jarrod Croker scores his second in the corner, as the flood gates open. Simple pass to Croker, as Maloney misses the tackle and he steps and scoots over. Croker GETS IT! 2/7
Canberra Raiders 32-12
77 min: Another short kick off gives the Warriors the ball back
78 min: Change over and the Raiders are working it away
78 min: Raiders simply put the ball into touch. Scrum Warriors.
80 min: And that is it. Thank you for joining us and have your say on the forums