On Sunday night at GIO Stadium, the Raiders secured their first win of the 2023 season, extending their winning streak over the Sharks with a 24-20 victory.
Corey Horsburgh’s impressive performance, which included his first double in the NRL, propelled the Raiders to victory against the Sharks who made a strong comeback after trailing by 14 points in the second half. Matt Timoko, the Raiders center, was also instrumental with a try and two assists, while the Sharks were kept in the game mainly due to the efforts of Braydon Trindall.
In humid conditions in Canberra, the Raiders suffered an early setback when Danny Levi was taken to the hospital with a suspected broken jaw after a tackle on Braden Hamlin-Uele just two minutes into the game.
Shortly after, Cronulla struck first on the left edge through Ronaldo Mulitalo, who broke the line and found Will Kennedy in support for his fourth try of the season.
The Raiders responded with tries from Albert Hopoate and Horsburgh, but Kennedy and Mulitalo combined again just before halftime, with the fullback placing a short kick for the Kiwi international to collect and score inside the sideline.
The Sharks’ lacklustre second half, which included four penalties and two errors in eight minutes, allowed the Raiders to score twice before Royce Hunt was sin-binned for lashing out at Horsburgh after a scrum. The Sharks’ loss of Hunt did not hurt them as much as it could have, as Trindall set up Jesse Ramien for a try on the right edge in his 100th NRL match.
Another try to the visitors via Briton Nikora made it a four-point game with 15 minutes left, but the Raiders held firm defensively with some big plays to secure the win.
