Raiders

Coming off a 70-10 thumping to the Melbourne Storm, the New Zealand side came-from-behind to clinch a 21-20 golden point win over the Canberra Raiders in Redcliffe on Saturday night.

Facing a 20-12 halftime deficit, the Warriors fought back in the second spell, with a late converted try and then a penalty forcing the match into extra-time.

There it was returned playmaker Shaun Johnson who was the hero, kicking the match-winning field goal to give his side their fourth win of the season.

After a challenging 2020 season in which Canberra fell a game short of a return to the grand final, the depth at the club has been boosted by the performances of several younger players in an impressive second half of the year.

Croker even includes his own spot as one that will have to be won back.

The likes of Matt Timoko and Harley Smith-Shields are doing the hard yards at training to stake their claim for Croker's centre position in the opening rounds of 2021 while the 30-year-old continues his recovery from off-season shoulder surgery.

Ottio remains a constant memory in Canberra where he was a squad member alongside Lions stars Josh Hodgson, Elliott Whitehead and Blake Austin, before passing away due to severe heat stroke suffered while training in Port Moresby almost two years ago.

On the tiny island of Tatana, not far from the PNG capital, his Canberra teammates paid tribute to the 23-year-old who died just days before taking up a deal with Widnes Vikings.

The Raiders, the better team for the majority of the match, denied their fourth title after a series of controversial calls in a heart-stopping 14-8 loss at ANZ Stadium on Sunday night.

None more controversial then the officials calling six-again to the Raiders on the attack, only to change their minds without the Raiders realising the call had been amended.

What the Raiders thought would be a fresh set attacking the Roosters line at 8-8 with less seven minutes on the clock, became the start of a nightmare for the men in green.

Disappointment is the only word Warriors coach Stephen Kearney could conjure post-match after his side's remote finals aspirations dreams were all-but buried at Mount Smart stadium last night.

They'll remain 12th by the end of the weekend but can't fancy their hopes on current form, combined with a tough run home and ongoing injury problems for Kodi Nikorima and Karl Lawton.

Coach Stephen Kearney delivered his lacklustre players a rocket at the break and was still steaming at fulltime.

The halfback is off contract at the end of next season and the Warriors have told Johnson he is free to explore offers from other clubs.

Canberra chief executive Don Furner said the club has not made any approaches to Johnson.

News Corp Australia reported earlier this month that the Raiders had been making discreet moves to bring Johnson to Canberra for next season.

"What happens is the manager rings you up and says would you like Shaun Johnson and 'do you think he would be a good player at your club?' and you don't say no," Furner said.

The side nabbed their second NRL win in a row at the weekend beating Parramatta 22-10 in Auckland - the win lifted the Warriors to 3-3 for the season

Coach Stephen Kearney said this week's match up will mark Blake Ayshford's 150th career appearance.

"When you look at the rest of our outside backs he's not the same sort of athlete. Ken Maumalo and David Fusitu'a are big men, Sol Kata is really powerful and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has so much speed. Aysh is a lot different but he's reliable and does a tremendous job for us.

"It's great to see him getting to this mark."

The absence of form hooker Josh Hodgson to a one-game suspension looked like costing Canberra dearly as a disorganised Raiders outfit was stunned by an early blue and gold avalanche but the Green Machine sparked into life in the second half as skipper Jarrod Croker's virtuoso performance helped his outside man Brenko Lee to a stunning four-try haul.

Manly's loss was compounded by injuries to Daly Cherry-Evans (ankle) and Brenton Lawrence (pec) in the first half before losing Jamie Lyon to a leg injury shortly after the break.

Following a couple of error-riddled games in recent weeks, Canberra fullback Jack Wighton bounced back in the best way possible with a try, two assists and a pair of try-saving tackles to help his side knock off the Sea Eagles at home for the first time since 2004.