An understrength Canberra Raiders Jersey Flegg Cup side were brave in defeat to the second-placed Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, going down 16-12 at Jubilee Stadium in the Qualifying Final this afternoon.
Off the back of a quick start the Sharks led 16-6 at the main break, but a converted try to Raiders half Jamie Cowling midway through the second half set up a tense finish. Cronulla were able to hold on to set up next week’s Major Semi-final showdown with Minor Premiers, Melbourne Storm at Leichhardt Oval, with the Raiders awaiting the winner of the Elimination Final between the Penrith Panthers and Parramatta Eels in the Minor Semi – also to be played at Leichhardt Oval next weekend.
The Sharks started the match in fine fashion with tries inside the opening 10 minutes to prop Felix Faatili (3’) and centre Nikora Williams (8’) to lead 10-0 against a shell-shocked Raiders side, before the Green Machine finally hit back in the 14th minute when centre Tariq Tanner crossed over, converted by winger Kruger Roache to trail by just four points.
But the Sharks, led by a powerhouse performance in the middle by captain Samuel McCulloch, took full advantage of their territorial dominance to restore that 10-point lead.
A cross-field kick from five-eighth Ashton Simmonds wasn’t handled well by Raiders fullback Cooper Johnston, and his opposing number Adrian Sandy was on hand to clean up the loose ball and step his way back inside to score next to the posts in the 24th minute.
Cronulla looked to have extended their lead further when winger John-Paul Donevski finished off a sweeping right-side play to cross untouched only for the final pass to be ruled forward, and the Raiders were perhaps lucky to be heading into the main break only trailing 16-6, given the Sharks’ dominance.
The Sharks looked likely to extend that lead soon after the resumption of play when a sweeping back-line move put Donevski into space towards the southwest corner but lost the ball in attempting to put it down over the line.
The Raiders made them pay when half Jamie Cowling grubber kicked from 40 metres out and was able to get boot to ball a second time, with the playmaker getting a favourable bounce to regather and score out wide. With Roache’s successful conversion, Canberra once again trailed by just the four points at 16-12 with 23 minutes remaining.
But despite the Raiders having several half chances to take a shock lead against their more-fancied opponents, the Sharks managed to do just enough to secure a 16-12 win, setting up the top-two Major Semi-final clash next week with the Melbourne Storm.
Talking points
- The Sharks came into this clash having won 17 games for the season, to the Raiders 16.
- The Raiders had won the previous clash between the pair back in Round Five, 32-18.
- While the Raiders were forced to make several changes, the Sharks welcomed back forwards Felix Faatili, Sam McCulloch and Joe Nadenic from The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup.
Key moment
From the 14th minute the Raiders outscored the Sharks 12-6, including holding the second-placed outfit to nil in the second half. But Canberra will rue their slow start to the game conceding two tries in the opening 10 minutes, which ultimately proved the difference between a Grand Final qualifier against the Melbourne Storm instead of facing off in an elimination final next weekend against the winner of Penrith Panthers and Parramatta Eels.
What’s next?
With the 16-12 win the Sharks have set up a mouth-watering major semi-final next weekend against the Melbourne Storm at Leichhardt Oval. The Raiders get a second chance with a spot in next weekend’s elimination minor semi-final against the winner of Penrith and Parramatta.
