Raiders pile more misery on Tigers in belting
Benji Marshall insisted his team were focused on delivering a strong result in the nation’s capital on Saturday, but the Raiders piled more misery on the Tigers at the end of their tumultuous week.
With the noise around Jarome Luai’s departure trumped by Adam Doeuihi’s decision to not face the Raiders, the pressure was on the Tigers to find a win.
The Tigers could not find the answer to stop the Raiders Getty Images
However, Canberra proved far superior in a 56-10 thrashing.
There were some promising signs from the Tigers’ attack in the opening minutes of the game, with Luai wriggling his way into almost every play his team created.
But it did not take long for the Raiders to take control of the match, recording four tries in just under 25 minutes to set alight the crowd at GIO Stadium.
A 28-10 deficit at half-time for the visitors only worried retired playmaker Luke Keary more that things could “get really ugly” for the Tigers on enemy territory.
And Ricky Stuart’s men showed exactly how strong they can be when Daine Laurie powered over for a double in the space of 10 minutes to start the second half.
Laurie bagged his third in the 67th minute before Jed Stuart claimed his second in the 69th minute. Matthew Timoko then sealed the result at 56-10 with his late try.
“(Doueihi) has let his team down here this afternoon,” Steve Roach said on Fox League.
“They have been absolutely decimated.”
Earlier, Kaeo Weekes got the party started in the first half when he ran the length of the field to score a remarkable try that would give his side a 22-6 lead.
Xavier Savage leapt to collect a high ball and lost control when the ball fell backwards into the path of Simi Sasagi, who swerved past a handful of defenders and found Weekes.
Weekes’ speed could not be matched by any Tigers players, especially not Jahream Bula, who was palmed off by the Raiders fullback as he ran the length of the field.
“That is just unbelievable balance,” Roach said.
As Roach continued to praise the efforts of the 24-year-old, he noticed a small mishap with the contact Sasagi had made with the ball before the runaway try.
Keary and Roach were unsure if the footage available to the Bunker would be enough to argue that Sasagi had knocked the ball on before passing to Weekes.
Canberra players celebrate a try. Getty Images
“The Tigers players initially thought it was a knock-on. I don’t know if they will be able to overturn that decision. It could go either way,” Keary said.
Senior Bunker official Chris Butler spent some time reviewing the footage and in the end awarded the try, much to the joy of Fox League’s commentary team.
“It was that good, you don’t want to take that off them,” Roach said.
Savage added to the pain of the visitors when he crossed on an edge, but the Tigers promptly hit back via Faaletino Tava to end the half trailing 28-10.
