Match Report: NSW Cup Round 7 vs Raiders

Canberra were dominant throughout a majority of the match, outscoring Manly eight tries to two. The Sea Eagles side were cut down to 12-men following a sending off in the second half, scuppering any chances of the side walking away with two competition points.

Manly remain on six points this season, with three wins and four losses from seven matches played.

The home side scored in the second minute after a crafty grubber kick behind the defence from half-back Adam Cook was scooped up by Noah Martin, with the second-rower grounding the ball in the in-goal for a 6-0 lead.

The next ten minutes was a tale of two stories for Manly. The side was forced to defend in their own half after penalties helped send the Raiders deep into their territory. Thankfully, their compact defence helped them win the ball back and a penalty in their favour helped propel them deep into enemy territory.

The Sea Eagles were rewarded shortly after with a try coming in the 12th minute through Jordan Swann. A quick shift to the left edge and a pin-point cut-out pass from five-eighth Brandon Wakeham sent the winger over untouched to level the scores at 6-all.

Canberra didn’t take long to regain their lead with a try three minutes later for Jalen Afamasaga. The five-eighth fooled the defence with his footwork and beat two defenders to score in the corner for a 12-6 scoreline.

Despite a handful of chances in the Raider’s territory, the Sea Eagles weren’t able to capitalise and missed a chance to level the scores in the 33rd minute when Navren Willett knocked the ball on in front of the tryline. 

Things went from bad to worse, with Canberra taking advantage of the mistake en route to a try one minute later in the left corner for Manaia Waitere, extending their lead to 18-6 at half-time.

The Raiders struck five minutes into the second half after a 50-metre effort finished with Jaxon Lavender scoring under the posts to push the lead to 24-6.

Any chance of a comeback for the Sea Eagles was put on pause when Aaron Schoupp was sent off for a dangerous tackle, leaving the side with 12 players for the remaining 30 minutes.

Canberra took advantage of the numbers in their favour and scored next to the posts in the 54th minute through Simi Sasagi for a 30-6 scoreline.

Manly’s Jake Arthur took on the line himself and forced his way over to score his side’s second try seven minutes later. The half-back changed his line after catching the ball and pushed past three defenders to cut the deficit to 30-12.

The Raiders dominated the final 15 minutes of the match as Martin crashed over for his second try in the 66th minute. Waitere scored his second in the 73rd minute and completed his hat-trick four minutes later for a final scoreline of 46-12.

The Sea Eagles head to Wollongong to take on the St. George Illawarra Dragons in round 8 of the NSW Cup, on Saturday April 26 at 1pm.