Superboot Sam Williams guides Raiders to last-gasp win over Eels
There was a boilover at St Marys on Friday night as a mostly reserve grade Canberra side ran in four unanswered tries in the second half to upset Parramatta in a pre-season trial.
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There was a boilover at St Marys as a mostly reserve grade Canberra side ran in four unanswered tries in the second half to upset Parramatta 22-20 on Friday night.
The match went completely to script for the opening 39 minutes as a star-studded Eels outfit speed away to a 20-nill start.
But they were run down by the Raiders, literally, who stole victory from the clutches of defeat thanks to a runway try by Andre Niko - and sideline conversion by Sam Williams - right on full-time.
Coach Brad Arthur retired the bulk of his stars for the night after around 60 minutes and that’s when the Raiders made-up ground on the scoreboard.
It wasn’t the ideal start to their 2019 campaign but it wasn’t all bad news for Eels fans. They got their first glance of teenager Dylan Brown in the No.6 jumper.
The 18-year old looked at home at five-eighth as he barked orders in attack. He displayed some pinpoint kicking and even flashier footwork as he danced around the Raiders defence.
Despite the loss, the night belonged to his halves partner Mitchell Moses who set-up three tries.
But coach Brad Arthur was full of praise for both of his playmakers.
“They were pretty good. They kicked well and stuck to the plan. Dylan took the line on a couple of times and Mitch had some good touches,” he said.
“I was excited for Dylan, he’s a level headed kid and we was just looking forward getting out and playing some footy.”
Moses landed the first blow after he orchestrated the Eels’ first real attacking raid.
The halfback, who was working the left side of the field, threw a cut-off pass to fullback Clint Gutherson who found youngster Ethan Parry to score the opening try of the night.
That was only a taste of what Moses was to serve up in the first half. Only minutes later, he split the Raiders defence in two and his cross-field kick on the run found Parry once again and he dived over for his second try.
The highly-regarded Parry was elevated into the first grade squad this year and has leapfrogged the likes of Miko Sivo for a spot in Parramatta’s outside backs. His two try performance will give coach Brad Arthur plenty to think about as he settles on his starting back five for round one.
Moses, Brown, Gutherson and Reed Mahoney spent around 55 minutes on the field last night, all but confirming the make-up of Arthur’s spine in round one.
“That’s their first time they had their opportunity. It’s different at training you don’t get put under the pressure of a game. We have another trial in a couple of weeks and we’ll try and increase their spine to 70-75 minutes ready for round one,” Arthur said.
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad started the night wing for the Raiders only a week after officially joining the club from the New Zealand Warriors.
The outside back had a mixed night under the high ball, dropping his first attempt early in the first half. But he quickly recovered from that early mishap and caused the Eels defence plenty of headaches with his blockbusting runs out of his own half when he switched to fullback.
Nicoll-Klokstad is one of three contenders to replace Jack Wighton at fullback when he moves into the halves. But in a surprise move, he played out on the wing in the number five jumper, an indication that coach Ricky Stuart is considering as a potential replacement to Jordan Rapana. Rapana will be out of action until late May after he suffered he dislocated his shoulder while playing for New Zealand late last year.
Originally published as Superboot Sam Williams guides Raiders to last-gasp win over Eels
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