Raiders rule the roost at home

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Canberra Raiders v Sydney Roosters

A stirring performance on home soil has seen the Canberra Raiders claim a deserved 22-16 victory over the Sydney Roosters without their Origin stars.

Leading from start to finish in a contest attended by only the most ardent supporters braving the cold conditions, the win sees Ricky Stuart's men move within striking distance of the top eight with four wins from their past five matches.

Withstanding an early threat from Sitili Tupouniua, who was denied a four-pointer due to an obstruction ruling, the Raiders responded with Zac Woolford sending Adam Elliott (8th minute) through a yawning gap to open the scoring.

Struggling to gain the ascendancy in a half frequently dictated by the referee's whistle, the Roosters made the most of good field position from a penalty to level the scores at 6-all after Tupouniua (24th minute) crashed over following superb footwork by stand-in fullback Joey Manu.

Regaining the lead through Xavier Savage (29th minute), who caught an offload from Ryan Sutton around his ankles, the home side repelled several sets on their line to take a 12-6 lead to the change of ends.

Getting off to the perfect start following the resumption of play, Corey Horsburgh charged down and regathered a kick from Luke Keary before linking with the speedier Sebastian Kris (42nd minute) in support.

Scoring a pivotal try midway through the second half after Tupouniua was denied over the goal line twice, Angus Crichton ran through a hole created by Sam Walker, before delivering a pass to send Paul Momirovski (61st minute) over for his fourth try of the season.

Taking advantage of a one-on-one strip by Siosiua Taukeiaho inside the Raiders half, Joseph Suaalii (65th minute) leapt through the air with an effort reminiscent of Israel Folau to narrow the margin to two points following Walker's wayward sideline conversion.

Striking back after Matt Frawley forced a repeat set with a bomb, exciting centre Matt Timoko (70th minute) brushed aside Momirovski to restore a six-point buffer for the home side.

Holding off a late surge from the visitors after Frawley's late attempt at drop goal was wide of the mark, the Raiders held on to claim their first win over the Roosters since the 2020 finals series.

Next week, the Raiders face the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night, while the Roosters take on the Storm at the Sydney Cricket Ground earlier in the same evening.