Canberra have taken advantage of some good fortune their way to take a 14-6 victory over a very gutsy Wests Tigers side at Campbelltown Stadium.
It was a very strong opening forty minutes for the Tigers, as the Raiders struggled to gain any ascendancy in attack and were pinned down in their own half for long periods of time. The only points of the first half came off the back of a Raiders error. The home side was able to get on the board when Luke Brooks was in the right spot to catch an error from Curtis Scott who snatched at the Josh Reynolds kick and Brooks was able to get around to ground the ball to score.
The Raiders did have a bunker referral for a potential penalty or further with Chris Sutton unsure about contact by the Tigers on Curtis Scott. After a quick review, the bunker ruled no illegal contact and a dropout was called from the ensuing play.
The second half started very much like the first half with the Tigers dominating the field position but again were not able to take any advantage from it. Canberra were starting to get into good position but they just couldn't find the right pass which was shown by a ball that would've gone straight to touch judge Belinda Sharpe rather than any Raiders player.
They were able to get on the board in the 50th minute when Jack Wighton got over the line after back to back penalties against the Tigers for infringements in the ruck. The try didn't come without questioning, with Wighton not penalised in the prior play for a raised elbow that left Josh Reynolds down injured.
The momentum had well and truly swung and the Raiders were able to take advantage again when Russell Packer was sent to the sin bin by Chris Sutton for illegally stopping the Raiders from taking a quick tap off the back of a penalty. The reduced numbers for the Tigers came back to cost them almost instantly when George Williams took advantage with a kick behind the line and Nick Cotric had a free passage to the line to score the Raiders second try of the night. A pinpoint Jarrod Croker conversion pushed the margin out to 8 points.
The Tigers looked to close the gap and take time off the clock when they closed the margin to six following a Moses Mbye penalty goal. The Tigers fortunes didn't turn in their or in particular Russell Packer's favour when the veteran was placed on report for a high shot and the Raiders took the two points on offer to push it out to an 8-point margin.
The Tigers tried hard to get over the line to close the gap again but the Green Machine's defence stood tall and they held on for the 14-6 victory.
Both sides are back at Campbelltown next week, the Tigers are hosting the Cowboys on Saturday evening whilst the Raiders are at "home" when they host fellow high-flyers Manly on Sunday afternoon.