Match Report: NSW Cup Round 3 vs Raiders

Canberra struck early in the third minute when Manly fullback Charlie Thompson dropped a last-tackle kick on his 10-metre line, landing in the hands of opposition halfback Ethan Sanders to put late inclusion Jed Stuart away in the corner (6-0).

A strategic one-on-one strip by Danny Levi in his own half on Sea Eagles centre Jordan Swann put the Raiders back on the attack minutes later, this time swinging left to allow their other winger Michael Asomua to go over untouched, keeping up with the clock at 10-0.

Manly’s woes continued even on the attack, which quickly shifted to defence when a last-tackle kick by halfback and captain Jake Arthur landed with Chevy Stewart, who beat four before offloading to centre Manaia Waitere who ran away to score make it a 16-point lead. 

But the Sea Eagles clawed their way into the game off the back of an Asomua drop from Brandon Wakeham’s bomb, giving them a fresh set inside Canberra’s red zone. They finally found their way through the Green Machine right under the sticks as prop Toafofoa Sipley barged his way over (16-6).

Manly halfback Arthur finally took control of the game late in the first half, swinging across to the left side of the field after to produce a perfectly lobbed pass over two of Canberra’s edge defenders to put Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega over, making it a six-point game going into halftime (16-10).

Arthur took off in the second half where he left off in the first, putting up a pinpoint kick for high-flying winger Navren Willet who snatched the ball out of the air to bring the Sea Eagles within two points (16-14).

Arthur was at it immediately after with a looping pass to Willet who ran almost the length of the field, reconnecting with his halfback who went desperately close to scoring. 

They wouldn’t be denied for long as deja vu hit the Raiders when the winger leapt through the air to put his team ahead for the first time in the game, this time the kick coming from five-eight Brandon Wakeham (20-16).

Canberra hit straight back and stretched the margin back to six with some classy footwork and powerful speed from fullback Stewart, and then once more through Asomua in the corner, but Manly weren’t finished yet.

The home team found yet another equaliser with four minutes to play when Arthur dodged a rushing defender to lob a pass putting Vaega away (26-26), before a costly Manly penalty on Canberra’s 30-metre line in the ensuing set allowed Wakeham to calmly slot home the penalty and get the win for his side with less than a minute on the clock (28-26).

Written by George Alakiki - NSWRL