Raiders win well in Wellington

A wet and soggy Wellington greeted the players with the Raiders, the home side, keeping the Warriors winless in windy city defeating them by 18-10.

The Warriors with the weight of possession just could not get through the concrete defence the Raiders produced. The Canberra side soaked up the waves of attack from the Warriors, and kept them scoreless in the second half, after the visitors had the lead at halftime by 10-6.

Stand out players for the Raiders were Ruben Wiki, Simon Woolford, and Mark McLinden coming off the bench caused havoc. Henry Fa'afili and Monty Betham had a good game for the Warriors.

League Unlimited players of the match:

3 - R Wiki (Raiders) 2 - M McLinden (Raiders) 1 - H Fa'afili (Warriors)

RAIDERS 18 Tries: Robertson, Monaghan, Wiki Goals: Schifcofske (3/4) defeated WARRIORS 10 Tries: Fa'afili 2 Goals: Webb (1/3)

By the clock:

Terrible weather for the game in Wellington in front of a small crowd.

3rd min: TRY - Fa'afili for Warriors. Solid start for the Warriors. A mistake by Wiki at the 30 metre mark handed possession to the Warriors in a great position. Taking up the ball well, with a classic Jones kick out to Fa'afili on the wing. Webb, taking his time, misses the conversion 10 metres in from touch. Warriors 4-0

10th min: NEWS - No change in the score. Ball control in the wet conditions is a problem for both sides. Ref Hayne consistant in his penalties for holding down in the tackle. Warriors 4-0

11th min: TRY - Fa'afili for Warriors. Steady go forward by the Warriors following a penalty taking them to halfway. Great little chip by Hohaia for Fa'afili (pictured) flying up the sideline to get his 2nd try of the night. Webb from right on the sideline has no luck with the conversion. Warriors 8-0

20th min: NEWS - A bit of frustration seeping into the Raiders players, with Drew being the worst offender. A couple of unforced errors by the Warriors have let them down at crucial times, bombing scoring opportunities. Interchanges starting for both sides. Warriors 8-0

23rd min: NEWS - Great attacking play by the Warriors, close to scoring on their line, only to have Lolesi intercept and take off. Fa'afili hits back with a break of his own fron the Raiders line, too fast for any support. Great footy in wet conditions.

25th min: PENALTY GOAL - Webb for Warriors. Raiders penalised for offside play 30 metres out from the Warriors line, following Fa'afili's burst. Webb's kick shaves the post and goes over. Warriors 10-0

29th min: TRY - Robertson for Raiders. A line dropout for the Raiders with a very good set. McLinden noticing Meli had come up off his line, and puts a beaut chip thru for Robertson out wide. Schifcofske from the sideline, takes as long as Webb to kick, and misses. Warriors 10-4

33rd min: NEWS - McLinden (Raiders) upset with the ref for not playing advantage while blowing the whistle for a penalty. Quite easily could've scored as he was flying.

38th min: PENALTY GOAL - Schifcofske for Raiders. Warriors penalised yet again following a knock on by Jones. 15 metres in from touch, and 20 metres out. The game's certainly shifted to the Raiders, in part with McLinden coming on. Warriors 10-6. Schifcofske now has over 100 points so far this year

HALF TIME: The Warriors finish on attack, but no time left for the line dropout. A very hard 2nd half ahead for both sides

45th min: NEWS - Penalty count at halftime, 8-5 in favour of the Raiders. Errors 4 a piece, not bad considering the slippery conditions. Offloads 3-2 to the Warriors. Line breaks 1-0 to the Warriors. Completion rate: Warriors 75%, Raiders 73%.

48th min: NEWS - Solid start by both sides to this half. Meli (Warriors) just missing out on scoring two times in two minutes. Video ref is used and is correct.

55th min: NEWS - Score remains the same as at halftime. The Warriors have had a lot of chances but the Raiders defence is holding true. Warriors 10-6

57th min: TRY - Monoaghan for Raiders. First time down near their tryline in the 2nd half and the Raiders come up with the goods. McLinden once again putting a beautiful kick through for Monaghan to dive on. Schifcofske, 5 metres in from touch, gets a corker of a kick. Raiders 12-10

66th min: TRY - Wiki for Raiders. The big man keeps his record intact of causing the Warriors grief. Bursting through the line, there was no stopping him and he scores under the posts. Schifcofske has no trouble converting from out in front. Raiders 18-10

72th min: NEWS - The Warriors just can't get through the solid defence. The Raiders playing simple football which is working well. Raiders 18-10

76th min: NEWS - Fa'afili robbed of his hat trick by the video ref, Graeme West who deemed Jones passed the ball off the ground. Will be debated long after the final whistle but will not change the scoreline.

FULL TIME: Defence won the game for the Raiders. Well done.