NRL Las Vegas 2025: Canberra Raiders 30 d. Warriors 8, Joseph Tapine hit with ban for shoulder charge
Canberra’s emphatic victory in Las Vegas has come at a cost, with star forward Joseph Tapine hit with a suspension following a shoulder charge. He’s not the only Raider in danger of missing games either.
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Canberra’s statement Las Vegas win has come at a cost with star duo Joe Tapine and Xavier Savage facing suspensions.
Tapine has been hit with a two-three week ban following a shoulder charge on Warriors prop Mitch Barnett in the 30-8 win.
The Raiders captain was sin-binned for the incident and whacked with a grade two charge. He will be out for two games with an early guilty plea.
Two-try hero Savage is also in danger of missing Canberra’s round two game against Brisbane.
He has been slugged with a grade two dangerous contact charge for a late hit on Warriors five-eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita that carries a one-week suspension with an early plea.
Cronulla’s Briton Nikora is facing a $1500 fine for dangerous contact on Panthers star Nathan Cleary.
MATCH REPORT: RAIDERS ELECTRIFY IN VEGAS
-David Riccio
Hudson Young has taken a bat to the Warriors, prompting Raiders coach Ricky Stuart to declare the outstanding forward is on a mission to impress Test coach Mal Meninga.
Putting the embarrassment of his first night stoush with teammate Morgan Smithies and an inflatable baseball bat in Las Vegas behind him, Young was instrumental in Canberra’s historic opening round victory at Allegiant Stadium.
Raiders legends Meninga and NSW State of Origin coach Laurie Daley were part of the Green Machine entourage in Sin City and watched first-hand the relentless Young inspire the Raiders to a 30-8 victory over a flat Warriors side to officially launch the 2025 NRL season.
“He (Young) was extremely dominant,’’ Stuart said.
“From an emotional point of view he was calmer. He played his football and he’s that hungry for representative football.
“Having Mal here, he wants to play for Mal. He’ll want to play for Laurie Daley and be given the opportunity again in Origin.
“And we had both those boys here with us.
“If you’re a player, that excites you. You think, I have to get out there and perform in front of my rep coaches.’’
Away from his statistics of 16-runs, 117-metres and 36 tackles, Young frustrated the Warriors with his effort plays of line-speed and kick-chase.
Young’s pressure to force Warriors fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad to drop a kick-retrieval just five-minutes after halftime shattered any hope the Warriors had at the break to mount a comeback.
Sebastian Kris scooped up the loose ball from Nicoll-Klokstad’s drop to push the Raiders out to a match-defining 22-4 lead.
THE CONTROVERSY
The Raiders face a nervous wait from the NRL match review committee after captain Joseph Tapine was sin-binned for a shoulder charge on rival skipper Mitch Barnett.
Referee Grant Atkins didn’t hesitate sending Tapine to the bin in the 65th minute after failing to attempt to wrap his arms around Barnett.
Losing Tapine, the Raiders outstanding leader, would prove a massive blow for Canberra ahead of a round two clash with the Broncos at GIO Stadium on March 15.
“It’s my job to try and pump the boys up and turn momentum,’’ Tapine said.
“I was moving that fast, it’s hard to adjust.’’
Barnett said he held no grudge towards Tapine.
“He got me, my ribs are a bit sore. It’s all good. It’s rugby league, he’s trying to set the intent for his team,’’ Barnett said.
Tapine had run for more metres (115) than any other Canberra player at the time of his sin-binning.
TURNING POINT
The match took a dramatic swing of momentum for the Green Machine in the 30th minute when Xavier Savage survived being sin-binned for taking out the legs of Warriors five-eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita, while kicking the ball. Savage was placed on report for the incident of which will now be reviewed by the NRL match review committee. Savage staying on the field proved telling.
The Raiders flyer plucked an intercept from Luke Metcalf just two minutes later, running 80-metres to score at advance the Raiders lead to 16-0 nil.
Webster failed to use the incident as an excuse, instead pointing the finger at his side’s urgency to shut down the Raiders’ 15 to nine offload advantage.
ONE BIG FISH
The Warriors produced one of the biggest signings in the NRL by luring four-time premiership winner James Fisher-Harris from Penrith.
You’d have to be a fool to even suggest the champion prop won’t prove influential for the Wahs.
Typically stoic, you get the sense he will warm into the season as it progresses.
While the Warriors had 48 per cent possession to the Raiders’ 52 per cent, Fisher-Harris still produced 119-run metres.
“He played the first 25 minutes, I think the last 22 minutes, for round one that’s decent minutes for a front-rower,’’ Warriors coach Andrew Webster said.
RTS OF OLD
One bright light for the Warriors was the offering of cross-code star Roger Tuivasa-Scheck, who was a constant threat on the wing with his brilliant footwork and yardage carries allowing the Warriors to get their sets rolling.
The 31-year-old ran for almost 200 metres and produced a skilful put down to score a try in the 73rd minute.
Warriors coach Andrew Webster says his team were “100 per cent outclassed” after their faltering performance against the Raiders but has backed his halves pairing of Chanel Harris-Tavita and Luke Metcalf.
The Warriors produced a largely limp performance against a Canberra side with Webster conceding his side were beaten in every aspect.
“We got beaten to everything first,” Webster said. “They offloaded the ball really well. We knew it was coming, they are good at it. We focused too much on the next play.
“When they offloaded the ball, we had our back to it, we were too sideways in attack. They did a great job on their kick chase.
“They’d hit the ball up, we’d put all our energy into it and the rest of the team were working hard for the next thing.
“It’s so frustrating because of where we are. We will fix it quickly. We know it’s clear what we want to do.”
The halves pairing of Harris-Tavita and Metcalf failed to fire. Webster said it was a case of the attacking going too sideways and the forwards not laying enough of a platform for the attacking players.
“I felt like we didn’t go forward enough for them,” Webster said. “I thought we were a little bit sideways. That will be part of our review.
“Were they asking to move (the ball) at the wrong times. I don’t think we gave them enough platform. Enough to see that I loved what they did.”
Originally published as NRL Las Vegas 2025: Canberra Raiders 30 d. Warriors 8, Joseph Tapine hit with ban for shoulder charge
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