Full Round 8 Review - Canberra Raiders Cup

[Archie]

Canberra Raiders Cup Round 8 Wrap Up



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Canberra Raiders Cup Round 8 Wrap Up

Queanbeyan Kangaroos 16 defeated Tuggeranong Bushrangers 10 at Freebody Oval

The Tuggeranong Bushrangers nearly came away with the upset of the season against the Queanbeyan Kangaroos at Freebody Oval on Saturday.

The Bushrangers put in their best display of the season to date and pushed the unbeaten reigning premiers to the very last minute, but ultimately went down 16-10 in wet and wretched conditions.

Tuggeranong’s narrow loss may have been the side’s 5th straight loss but it sent out a message to the rest of the competition that despite their horrendous injury toll, they can still match it with the best sides in the Canberra Raiders Cup.

“We just wanted to prove to ourselves that we are in this competition and we can do things in this comp. We took it to the comp’s unbeaten team and we could’ve come away with the draw at the end but it didn’t quite work out,” said Tuggeranong Coach Jarrod Teka.

Tuggeranong had several chances to square the ledger in the final 10 minutes, although the terrible conditions made ball handling difficult.

Firstly, Brad Robertson dropped a cross-field kick from Rhys Browne when he looked certain to score and then on the Bushrangers last attacking raid in the game’s final minute, Browne again kicked for the corner only for the ball to fly over the head of winger Simon Leinesch.

Whilst the Bushrangers didn’t get the two points there were multiple positives that can be drawn from their performance.

Due to their the side’s surmountable injury toll, two of Tuggeranong’s talented rookies and members of the Canberra Raiders SG Ball side, Jamal Nchouki and Carl Johnson, made their debuts in first grade on the weekend.

Teka was extremely pleased with both of their efforts in what can be a somewhat daunting task coming up against fully grown adults.

Johnson was instrumental in Tuggeranong’s first try, making a break down the left wing before passing inside for Leinesch to score eight minutes into the second half.

The try came just after the Roos looked like running away with the win after Adam Pearce collected a beautifully placed grubber kick, but when Browne found Aaron Wilkens free in the corner with 25 minutes remaining the match was well and truly in the balance before Queanbeyan’s big match experience guided the side home.

Queanbeyan coach Aaron Gorrell, who missed a penalty goal and a drop goal in the second half, praised the Bushrangers.

“I thought in the second half Tuggeranong played well. They played smarter than us and we came up with some pretty simple errors and we simply didn’t handle the wet at all,” Gorrell said.

Belconnen United Scholars 40 defeated Queanbeyan Blues 16 at Northbourne Oval

Belconnen United Coach John Hawke’s decision to move Brent Crisp from fullback to five-eighth proved a masterstroke as the Scholars trounced the Queanbeyan Blues 40-16 at Northbourne Oval.

The dominant victory now sees the Scholars cement third place on the ladder as well as being crowned the best attacking team in the competition statistically.

While Hawke was pleased with his side’s second half performance their first half effort needed much improvement.

Both sides traded error for error in the first stanza until the Scholars eventually registered an 18-12 first half lead. From there, former Bulldogs NRL player Crisp took control of the match to ensure his side ran away with the two points and an envious for-and-against record.

“We had a bit of a change in the halves with Crispy going up there and overall I was pretty happy with what he dished up,” Hawke said.

Meanwhile Blues Coach Adam Doyle slammed his team’s attitude in defence. It was the second straight game they’ve conceded 40 points after losing 40-22 last week.

Doyle did concede that they were always going to be against the odds without injured halfback Ben Nicoll and hooker Jordan Hammond, but was still filthy with the overall defensive display.

“Take a seven and a nine out of any team and you’re going to struggle, but we still let far too many points in,” Doyle said.

“You can’t let in 40 and that’s two weeks in a row and that just comes down to our attitude in defence.”

Goulburn Workers Bulldogs 46 defeated Gungahlin Bulls 16 at Goulburn Workers Arena

Goulburn has continued their recent purple patch of form with a 30 point win over the fifth placed Gungahlin Bulls.

The win, couple with Woden’s loss to Yass, allows the Bulldogs to climb up to 6th place on the competition ladder.

Luke Grey was outstanding for Goulburn scoring three tries and being a constant menace for Gungahlin’s defensive structure whilst fullback Nathan Williams registered a personal haul of 22 points from two tries and seven goals.

Yass Magpies 38 defeated Woden Valley Rams 22 at Phillip

Yass has retained their position at second place of the Canberra Raiders Cup ladder with a 38-22 win over the Woden Valley Rams at Phillip yesterday.

Thanks to a dominant performance by the Magpies forward pack, halfback and former NRL player Steve Naughton and Raiders SG Ball fullback Jono Kent ran riot for Yass. The talented pair snared two tries in the 16 point win and created countless other opportunities for their team mates.

West Belconnen Warriors had the bye

Source: Raiders