‘Bloody good effort’: Raiders end Tigers’ fairytale
Scott Bailey |
Zahara Temara’s big-game experience has driven Canberra to their first NRLW finals win, helping break the heart of Wests Tigers with a low-scoring 6-0 shut out at Campbelltown Stadium.
On a night when Tigers coach Craig Sandercock was left frustrated by a 10-5 penalty count against his team, it was Temara who shone brightest.
The former Queensland State of Origin star laid on a bullet cut-out pass for Isabella Waterman for Canberra’s only try.
She then broke the line open in the second half and drew a penalty, before kicking it to go 6-0 up.
Beyond that, the Canberra halfback’s management of the game proved the difference, forcing two dropouts and kicking the Tigers into submission.
Temara won a premiership with the Sydney Roosters in 2021 and could come up against her old club next Saturday in a grand-final qualifier.
The Raiders will play the Tricolours if the all-star Brisbane roster beat Newcastle this weekend, otherwise they will face Gold Coast if the Knights win through.
Canberra controlled the majority of the game in western Sydney, with prop Chloe Saunders laying an immense platform with 173 metres and 73 of them post contact.
The Tigers did well to hold on as long as they did, forced to make 85 more tackles with the Raiders camped on their line for the majority of the first half.
“It was really frustrating,” a frustrated Sandercock said.
“I felt for our players. In a final to lose a penalty count 10-5 and not be rewarded for generating ruck speed with the ball, I am surprised it was close.
“We couldn’t win a play the ball or win a penalty. Full credit to them, they slowed the ruck down.”
Unsurprisingly, Canberra coach Darrin Borthwick spoke much higher of the only primetime Friday night NRLW game of the year.
“What a bloody good effort. I always knew with this team that we had resolve,” he said.
“What a great game of women’s footy. It was end to end, some really good defence.
“If you turned on the tele on a Friday night to watch a women’s game like that. It was a cracker.”
The defeat ends what has been a fairytale 2026 for the Tigers, who won only five games combined in their first three NRLW seasons and collected the past two wooden spoons.
The joint venture had been in contention for a top-two spot before three-straight losses ended their campaign, which was the Tigers’ first top-flight men’s or women’s finals series in 15 years.
The Raiders, meanwhile, have beaten the Broncos and pushed both Gold Coast and the Roosters, making them a genuine threat over the next fortnight.
AAP