The Sharks headed to the nation’s capital and have stunned the minor premiers the Raiders to book their preliminary final date with Melbourne Storm.
It was a disrupted lead-up for Canberra, who lost in a 94-minute epic to the Broncos last week, with coach Ricky Stuart working hard to pick his inexperienced team back up for their challenge.
The job was made even harder with their in-form five-eighth Ethan Strange ruled out on game day with illness. His absence alongside departing halfback Jamal Fogarty was noticed as the Raiders struggled with their fluency in attack.
The back-to-back losses in the finals was the first time the minor premiers have gone out in straight sets since St George Illawarra Dragons in 2009. It is only the 14th time it has happened, including the pre-NRL era.
For the Sharks, the 32-12 result was a big win, with the visitors putting in a huge effort in their defence initially to turn the Raiders away, growing in confidence before finding their spark in attack.
A Friday night epic awaits next week at AAMI Park against the Storm.
Follow all the Semi-Final action on NRL.com's live blog.
Raiders v Sharks at GIO Stadium
Match: Raiders v Sharks
Finals Week 2 -
home Team
Raiders
1st Position
away Team
Sharks
5th Position
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
Post-match
Sharks stat attack: Cronulla skipper Blayke Brailey put in a shift, making 61 tackles in a game set up by strong defence in the first half. KL Iro made the most metres in the game, with 203., including 63 post-contact and one line break.
Press conferences
Raiders
Raiders: Finals Week 2
Sharks
Sharks: Finals Week 2
Full-time: The Sharks have knocked the minor premiers the Raiders out of the title race with a strong 32-12 victory. The visitors won it with their defence in the first half, turning the Raiders away when they had the better of the opportunities with the ball. In the end, the game finished with 50 percent possession, with both sides completing at 78 percent with 36/46. The Sharks next head to Melbourne to take on the Storm in the preliminary final.
74th min: Teig Wilton puts a stamp on this result for the Sharks, dropping the ball on his foot to kick through the line, collect the ball and score. A few errors and a set restart offered up by the Raiders helped the visitors maintain the pressure in the lead up to Wilton scoring. Hynes converts and it's 32-12.
63rd min: KL Iro is over for a messy try for the Sharks, but all points count. The Raiders let a Trindall kick bounce and it's a good one for his side, looping back towards the chasers and the Raiders can't clean it up, allowing their opposition to score. Hynes converts and the lead is a big one - out to 26-12.
KL Iro Try
60th min: A couple of back-to-back penalties to the Sharks and with the second, they are in range to kick for goal, with Hynes slotting over the extras to push out to a 20-12 lead.
56th min: A successful captain's challenge to the Raiders, with Will Kennedy deemed to have made high contact when he made a play to get the ball from Seb Kris who had just made an good bust through the line and was eyeing the try line.
53rd min: The Sharks reclaim the lead with Billy Burns crashing over in an individual effort, breaking through some tackles in the middle of the field and shrugging off defenders. Hynes converts and Cronulla's lead is out to 18-12.
Billy Burns Try
46th min: A quick turn around from that disappointment with Savelio Tamale going over on the left. The Sharks turned the ball over mid-way down the field and the Raiders waste little time going back on the attack. They run the same play that was overruled before, but get it right this time for their winger to score. Fogarty's kick is true and it's 12-12.
Savelio Tamale Try
45th min: Simi Sasagi is denied a try by the Bunker for an obstruction, with lead running Hudson Young deemed to have stopped in the line, denying Billy Burns a chance to move across the try an shut down the attack. Scores remain 12-6.
Half-time: The Sharks take a 12-6 lead into the break, coming from behind to post two quick-fire tries to end the half. Despite having only 45 percent of the ball, the Sharks have the lead, also completing at only 66 percent with 16/24. The Raiders have completed with 21/25 for an 84 percent completion rate. Sharks have made more errors (8-4) and conceded more penalties (4-3), but are in front where it counts. They will have to play out the second half without forward Tom Hazelton, who was only able to play four minutes in his return game.
39th min: Hynes goes over as the Sharks go bang-bang in quick fashion. KL Iro makes a break down the left side to help set up the try, with the ball going back into the middle where Braydon Trindall pops a ball underneath for Hynes to run in and score. He converts his own try and all of a sudden it's 12-6.
Nicholas Hynes Try
35th min: Ronaldo Mulitalo is over for the opening try for the Sharks, going in off a nice pass from Hynes. Hynes converts his winger's 100th NRL career try to lock the scores at 6-6.
Ronaldo Mulitalo Try
29th min: Sharks forward Tom Hazelton's night is over after he was ruled out with a Category 1 head knock after an accidental head clash with Tom Starling.
28th min: An unsuccessful captain's challenge for the Sharks, with Nicho Hynes deemed to have lost the ball.
23rd min: Canberra's belief that they can score a try pays off after turning down the chance to go for a penalty goal twice - with Corey Horsburgh somehow able to sneak his arm with the ball down on the try line next to the goal post. The Sharks had plenty of defenders on him, but didn't wrap the ball, with the prop touching the ball down in great view of the referee. Jamal Fogarty converts and it's an early 6-0 lead for the Raiders.
Corey Horsburgh Try
21st min: Sharks forward Toby Rudolf gives up a penalty and is put on report for a high shot on Joseph Tapine.
12th min: Savelio Tamale gives up a penalty for a double movement, with the winger unable to resist the urge to put his arm over the line to try and score the first points of the game. In an even opening, there have been a few errors, but the Raiders look to be on top in applying pressure. However, the Sharks defence has been up to every test so far.
Kick off: The Sharks kick off and the Raiders have the ball to start the game.
Pre-game, stars from both sides spoke about the week's build up for the match.
Star halves join the panel
Late Mail
Raiders: After a big change on the morning of game day, no further changes to the Raiders 1-17 an hour out from the game. Earlier, the home side were dealt a massive blow with boom five-eighth Ethan Strange ruled out due to illness. Strange has scored six tries in his last four games and been touted as a Kangaroos bolter for the end-of-season Ashes tour. Englishman Matty Nicholson joins the interchange bench with utility Simi Sasagi listed at five-eighth. Ethan Sanders was also added to the 19-man squad and was elevated to 18th player in the final team update. The Raiders were initially unchanged from the side that went down to the Broncos in a 94-minute epic last Sunday with forward leader Josh Papali'i ready to step up again despite suffering an ankle injury a fortnight ago that tested his resilience and ability to play with pain. "His professionalism towards getting that ankle right last week was second to none and that's what got him onto field," coach Ricky Stuart said on Friday.
Sharks: Prop Tom Hazelton missed the win over the Roosters due to an infection in his knee but has been moved onto the bench for the sudden-death clash in a late game-day change. Oregon Kaufusi makes way. "He has done a terrific job of getting himself healthy again off the back of last week and he's got a good bank of hard work this week so we'll see how he responds to a last hit-out today," coach Craig Fitzgibbon said on Friday of Hazleton. Daniel Atkinson is the 18th player. Earlier, Briton Nikora returned from suspension via the bench last week and has again been named on the interchange.
