Weyman injury dampens win

The Canberra Raiders fought back from 16-6 half time deficit to defeat the Wests Tigers 36-30 in their final trial match at Campbelltown Stadium last night, but an injury suffered by Michael Weyman has put a scare through the camp on the eve of the 2005 season.

Weyman fell hard on his right wrist halfway through the first half and took no further part in the game. It is now feared that the young prop may have sustained the same injury that kept him out of the game for an extended period after he injured his left wrist in 2003.

He returns to Canberra for x-rays tonight, with more scans possible early in the week to find out the full extent of the injury.

The Raiders scored six tries in their less than impressive victory , with stand-in captain Clinton Schifcofske landing all six conversion attempts.

They found themselves trailing 26-18 late in the game, but three tries in the last 11 minutes of play secured the come-from-behind win, with Ben Galea scoring for the Tigers after the full time siren to close the final margin to six points.

Raiders coach Matt Elliott was not pleased with his side's performance.

"It was a poor trial game," he admitted. "Not so much in terms of execution, but we were low on aggression and enthusiasm."

Elliott is no doubt anticipating the return of key personnel missing from yesterday's clash, with Simon Woolford, Jason Croker, Jason Smith and Ian Hindmarsh all abscent from the Raiders lineup.

He nominated Schifcofske and Kris Kahler as the standout performers in the trial, with Kahler's try 14 minutes from full time kick-starting the Raiders fightback.

A freakish try followed two minutes later, when the Raiders were awarded a penalty deep in their own half. Matt Adamson took the kick for touch, with Tigers winger Matt Reick tapping the ball infield straight to Nathan Smith, who ran 45 metres to score.

The Raiders have the bye in next week's opening round of the NRL Telstra Premiership, giving them an extra week of preperation before their season opener against Newcastle at Canberra Stadium.

Canberra Raiders 36 (Adamson, Schifcofske, Robertson, Kahler, N Smith, Graham tries; Schifcofske 6 goals) d. Wests Tigers 30 at Campbelltown Stadium.