BY ROB

After eight rounds of diminished returns the Canberra Raiders NRLW team managed to cap off their lacklustre season with a win over the Gold Coast Titans. This match bore all the symptoms of the Raiders season, the treatment a strong salve of sentiment.

The Raiders opened the scoring in the first minute. The Titans flubbed the reception of the kick-off, and from there Canberra shifted the ball left. Nicholls provided quick distribution to Tungai, who in turn put on a beautiful flick pass to send Soliola (resplendent in her Mother of Dragons hairstyle) over for a try.

Canberra were back in the Titans red just a few minutes later, and this time it was departing veteran Apii Nicholls scything through the Gold Coast line to score her maiden NRLW try.

During the first half the Raiders defensive efforts were assisted by the Titans ineptitude when in possession – the visitors seemed to either drop the ball or throw an errant/forward pass on every set afforded to them.

The problem for Canberra was their inability to keep the Titans out of their half. The opposition routinely started their sets from good position, marching the ball 50-60 metres down-field before dropping it somewhere in the Raider’s red zone.

The Titan’s malaise didn’t last, and with the first half nearly over they finally managed to slice through on the left hand side. That ominous sensation made an all too familiar appearance.

The Raiders managed to wrest control back in the 42nd minute after Ash Quinlan cleaned up a kick to score, eventually being awarded a penalty try after the bunker deemed her scoring ability to have been interfered with by an illegal tackle.

Canberra desperately needed to extend their lead, but instead they went the long, hard way round. The Titans hit back ten minutes later through Taliah Fuimaono, and then again in the 66th minute via a comical show-and-go from Sienna Lofipo, who made  four Raiders look very silly.

Across the last 25 minutes the Raiders scrounged and scrapped in defence – Holyman, Soliola and Dodd all strong contributors lead by the constant determination of Chante Temara who tackled her way to the top of the charts.

The game was ultimately won by Zahara Temara’s ability to kick a conversion, with the Titans three attempts either wide or short of the sticks.

And so a gruelling sophomore season came to an end. The Raiders finished with a meagre 33.33% win rate, garnished by a differential of -22 (surprisingly the best differential of any non-finalist). The founding spine is no more, and the search begins for a new fullback and halfback.

We’ll recap the season with some more in-depth stuff across the next few weeks, but for now this marks the end of any Raiders W/Review/s for 2024. Dan, Viv and I would like to thank you all for joining us this year, and we look forward to your company in 2025 for what will hopefully be a much more positive season.

Rob is the best human I know so you should follow him on Twitter here. Or you can do us a solid and like our page on Facebook, or share this on social media. Don’t hesitate to send us feedback (dan@sportress.org) or comment below if you think we are stupid. Or if we’re not.