NRL Round 20: Canberra Raiders win 40-16 over Parramatta Eels

The Raiders are one step closer to securing their first minor premiership since 1990, overcoming a Parramatta comeback to claim an eighth straight win after a second-half surge.

It wasn’t pretty, but a powerful second half surge has seen the Raiders maintain their spot at the top of the NRL ladder and edge closer to a first minor premiership since 1990.

Playing in front of a sold out GIO Stadium on a stunning winter’s Saturday afternoon, the Raiders weren’t at their best but were still way too good for a plucky Eels side, scoring 28 second half points and running out 40-16 winners.

The victory was Canberra’s eighth straight and fittingly was played in the presence of a host of Raiders legends returning to honour the club’s history in their annual Forever Green celebration.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said his side had got a head of themselves after the two early tries and at halftime asked them to remember who they were playing for on the day.

“I think we were a bit entitled in that last 25 minutes in the first half and we weren’t prepared to work hard to earn what we had to do,” Stuart said.

“That was basically what we spoke about half time, we had to turn it around because we’re playing for a lot of people here in regards to those who have played in our jumper before and played in our number, and we had to turn it around and show a little bit of pride on the jumper itself.

The Raiders are closing in on their first minor premiership since 1990, beating Parramatta to claim an eighth straight win. Picture: Getty Images

“I was happy, really happy with the way we dug deep in the second half and played a bit of footy.”

The Raiders began the match in a flurry, taking less than four minutes to score their first via Jed Stuart and within three minutes Zac Hosking delivered them a second.

But Parramatta were not flustered, continuously finding holes in an uncharacteristically porous Raiders middle that led to Charlie Guymer pouncing on a Dean Hawkins kick in the 13th minute and Zac Lomax crossing in the 30th.

Then, when Sean Russell grabbed a deft Joash Papalii kick to score, the Eels went to the break with an unlikely 16-12 lead.

The Raiders’ defence improved in the second half and a second try to Stuart, along with a double to Owen Pattie and four pointers to Simi Sasagi and Ethan Strange sealed the win.

Parramatta have now won just one of their last six matches, but that ledger doesn’t tell the full story for Jason Ryles’ side’s progress, or their performance in this match.

Josh Addo-Carr turned back the clock with his best recent display and Lomax was as impressive, inspirational as ever, while Dylan Walker, Guymer and Matt Doorey had their moments.

Parramatta did well to fight back and lead the scoring at halftime. Picture: Getty Images

ATA BOY

In veteran Josh Papalii and skipper Joe Tapine the Raiders have perhaps the best one-two front row punch in the competition, but not far behind them is bench middle Ata Mariota, who was again outstanding against the Eels.

The 23-year-old has come into his own this season, playing exclusively as an interchange sub, and would be a walk-up starter in almost every other NRL side.

Mariota is tied to the Raiders until the end of next season and will surely be a major target for Raiders great Mal Meninga and the Perth Bears in 2027.

Versatile backrower Hosking was also busy, deputising in the middle when Papalii and Tapine were off the field, but he is going nowhere, having this week inked a two-year extension that will keep him in Canberra until the end of the 2028 season.

Ethan Strange was a standout for the Raiders. Picture: Getty Images

LAURIE’S STRANGE DOUBLE

All the talk in recent months has been around teenage half Lachlan Galvin’s move from the Tigers to Bulldogs, but it is Canberra’s young half Strange that has really been setting the competition alight.

It was fitting that on the Raiders’ Old Boys Day Strange drew comparisons with former Raiders’ star Laurie Daley with some of his runs, busting eight tackles and scoring a last-minute try.

“He’ll probably play Origin one day and probably pretty soon,” was the praise from Michael Ennis on Fox League.

Stuart said the growth of Strange’s game in the last year has been immense.

“You look at Ethan Strange at the moment and his communication and confidence has grown so much over 12 months and I just keep thinking to myself, where’s he going to be in another two years?”

MIXED JOASH

With Newcastle-bound Dylan Brown left out of the side, Ryles again placed his faith in Joash Papalii in the number 6 jersey.

The 21-year-old rookie showed flashes of brilliance, including the short bomb for Russell’s first half four pointer, mixed with some overzealous misfires.

He certainly did enough at times to warrant perseverance from Ryles and his future combination with fellow young guns Isaiah Iongi and Tallyn Da Silva will be integral to Parramatta’s hopes for sustained long term success.

Post game Ryles said the outing would be good for Papalii’s development and there was no thought to bring Brown back into the side.

“Joash, he was good again today,” Ryles said. “He’s obviously got some lessons there in the second half, so we’ll just keep working really hard with developing his game.

“Joash did a really good job and we’re going to keep working with him and keep developing him and he’s got the first opportunity there.”

Originally published as NRL Round 20: Canberra Raiders win 40-16 over Parramatta Eels