Junior reps go down in round oneThe Canberra Raiders junior representative sides have started their seasons in disappointing fashion after losing both their clashes against the Manly Sea Eagles at Seiffert Oval last Saturday.
The Harold Matthews side started promisingly, they scored the first try of the match through fullback Chris Hart and were leading the opposition 12-10 at half time after back rower Daniel Dole crashed over from short range just before the break.
However, Manly appeared to click into gear during the second half scoring 30 unanswered points, racing to a 40-12 lead with seven minutes remaining in the second half.
The Raiders rallied late to score two quick tries within the last five minutes of the game through Tom Cronan and Jack Hickson, but these were merely consolations with the visitors prevailing 40-22.
The S.G. Ball side similarly started their match well with centre Siaosi Pohahau opening the scoring in just the second minute after some great lead up play from halfback Anthony Milford.
However from that point on it was almost all Manly, with the visitors piling on 7 tries within a 30 minute period to lead 38-16 with 24 minutes to play.
The Raiders gave the home fans a glimmer of hope during the latter stages of the second half, after tries from Brenko Lee (who scored a hat trick) and Milton saw the deficit cut to just 10 points (38-28) with just over 20 minutes remaining.
However, with five minutes left on the clock Manly was able to score the clincher through hooker Natoli to put the game beyond the Raiders reach, Manly taking the points 44-28.
Both teams will travel to Belmore Sports Ground this weekend to take on the Bulldogs’ junior representative sides.
Source: Raiders.com.au
Topic: Junior reps go down in round one
