Match Result: The Canberra Raiders will avoid the wooden spoon, as they moved to 10th on the ladder, with a 16 point win over the Penrith Panthers at GIO Stadium on Monday night.
CANBERRA 34
PENRITH 18
Four tries in the first 27 minutes, to set up a 22-0 lead, won the match for the Raiders as they dominated the early stages of the contest.
They were ruthless in the middle, as the forwards and halves ran rings around the Panthers defence.
Sam Williams started the scoring in the seventh minute, before Jarrad Croker added a second try after fourteen minutes.
The forwards then joined the party with Jarrad Kennedy and Shaun Fensom adding tries.
Just when it looked like the game would be a blowout, Penrith responded.
James Segeyaro, after a third goal line drop out, scored from dummy half to get the Panthers on the board.
The score was 22-6 at half time, and remained that way until the 60th minute.
Interchange player, Kurt Baptiste, added another try to Canberra to seal the two points.
They would add one more try, with Penrith scoring two consolation tries, to make the final margin 16 points.
The contest wasn’t without injury though as both Jamie Soward and Blake Austin suffered serious injuries.
Austin injured his shoulder, after a tackle, with Soward being knocked out after contact with the Canberra fullback.
The Penrith half back was taken to hospital for precaution, but is expected to make a full recovery.
The Panthers face a huge clash next week with Newcastle which will decide the winner of the wooden spoon.
Canberra will look to finish their season with a win against Parramatta.
Match Preview: Avoiding the wooden spoon will be the aim of the Canberra Raiders and Penrith Panthers when they face each other on Monday Night football in the nation’s capital. Join The Roar for a live blog of the match from 7:00pm AEST.
With both teams on 20 points, and the bottom placed Knights also on the same amount of wins, a victory tonight can eliminate either team from the wooden spoon race.
Both these teams have had rotten luck in 2015.
The Panthers have been riddled with injuries, losing some of their best players for a large duration of the season.
They have now lost six of their last seven as the season has slipped away from them.
Canberra, on the other hand, have had bad luck with multiple close losses.
Eight defeats have been by under 8 points in 2015. If Canberra won half of those matches, they would be looking forward to finals football.
At least the positive for 2016 is that they have been in positions to win plenty of matches.
They have made one change for the clash with Brenko Lee coming in for Joey Leilua who is suspended for the rest of the year.
The Panthers have made plenty of changes with Elijah Wood out with a broken hand.
Isaah Yeo shifts to lock with Waqa Blake now in the centres. Apisai Koroisau starts at five-eighth replacing James Segeyaro who is now at hooker. Sika Manu is dropped to the bench with Tyrone Peachey in the 13 at front row.
Penrith have a good record against Canberra, winning three of the last five in Canberra, and three out of the last five overall.
Despite that, the Raiders will be the favourites tonight.
They’ve played better football this year, and with a more stabilised team named, they can win at home.
Canberra by 6.
Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 7:00pm (AEST) on Monday. If you are following the action live, be sure to share your thoughts on the match in the comments below.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Full report to come later tonight.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
MATCH STATS - Metres Gained - Raiders 1653 Panthers 1774 Offloads - Raiders 12 Panthers 15 Line Breaks - Raiders 9 Panthers 6 Possession - Raiders 54% Panthers 46% Completions - Raiders 31/37 Panthers 28/38 Tackles - Raiders 331 Panthers 354 Missed Tackles - Raiders 42 Panthers 32 Penalties - Raiders 5 Panthers 5 Errors - Raiders 7 Panthers 10
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
FULL TIME - Canberra win 34-18 in the nation's capital. Solid win by the Raiders. CANBERRA 34 Williams 1 Croker 1 Kennedy 1 Fensom 1 Baptiste 1 Waqa 1 Croker 5/6 PENRITH 18 Segeyaro 1 Brown 1 Smith 1 Soward 1/1 Koroisau 2/2
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 79:45 James Segeyaro drops the ball. That will be the game.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 79:04 Josh Papalii now throws a dangerous tackle and Panthers win a penalty. They will finish the game here with the final set of the match.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 78:10 Canberra opt to run on the last and get tackled. Penrith might have just one more set here.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 77:00 Segeyaro knocks the ball on, with the set after the restart. Canberra have a scrum around 20 metres from halfway.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 76:19 Koroisau adds the two. Score is 34-18.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 75:30 TRY TO PENRITH That was brilliant by Will Smith. He gets the ball, beats the tackle of the Raiders, and breaks through. Using his pace, and a great side step, he gets to the line to score. Score is 34-16.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 75:00 Penrith win a penalty.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 72:22 I apologise again. Stupid computer slowed up and I couldn't write anything quickly. I'm very annoyed and I had to restart it. Canberra score through Sisa Waqa, just then, as he runs through the middle to beat the Panthers defence. Score is 34-12 after Croker added the two. Koroisau also converted brilliantly after the last try to the Panthers.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 70:11 Apologies for no updates. My computer has just decided it doesn't want to play ball for the last 10 minutes.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 64:13 TRY TO PENRITH Penrith go coast to coast and score through Lewis Brown. Bryce Cartwright sets it up with a great pass. Score is 28-10
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2- 63:14 Canberra complete the first set after the restart. Penrith almost knock the ball over as Will Smith gets the ball.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 62:00 Croker adds the two. Score is 28-6.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 60:33 We have points in the 2nd half. TRY TO CANBERRA That is the game. The Raiders use their forwards to barge through the middle. Paul Vaughan goes first, before Kurt Baptiste plays from dummy half, to score his first for the night. Canberra lead 26-6 and that will be game for them.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 59:38 Canberra survive and now win a penalty. That shoulder charge call was poor as well. Nothing in it.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 58:33 Here is a chance for Penrith. Josh Papalii is penalised for a shoulder charge and the Panthers have a penalty.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 57:33 Canberra kick into touch and Penrith have a scrum 15 metres from the Canberra line.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 56:40 No update on Austin but he won't be available for the rest of the night.