Raiders roll Sea Eagles to move into top 8

The Raiders powered past the Sea Eagles on Saturday afternoon to record a 48-6 a victory which sees them jump into eighth place and take control of their finals destiny with a round to play in the regular season. 

With so much on the line, Canberra didn't disappoint and always looked in control of the match, with their five tries in the opening 40 minutes giving them a 28-0 lead at the break.

The win, coupled with the 42-point differential gained, means the Raiders have leapfrogged the Broncos into eighth position on for and against. 

The Raiders' opening two tries both started on their own goal-line, with Jordan Rapana earning his side a seven-tackle set which finished with him scoring in the corner, before a blocked Manly grubber was scooped up by Hudson Young, who then linked with Jack Wighton, who in turn found flying fullback Xavier Savage to finish a 100-metre effort. 

Sebastian Kris knocked a Jamal Fogarty kick back to a waiting Young for the home side's third, followed by a left-side break which presented Tom Starling with his second try of the year, before Fogarty scored and kicked his fourth conversion for a 28-0 lead. 

Young scored his second early in the second half before the Sea Eagles earned one back, but Canberra finished with a flurry to blow the final scoreline out. 

In the final 15 minutes Albert Hopoate, Sebastian Kris and Corey Harawira-Naera all scored to ensure the Raiders secured their biggest ever victory against Manly. 

Match snapshot

• The win puts the Raiders into the top eight for the first time since round 3.
• Canberra's 28 first-half points was the most they have scored in a first half all year and it finished in their biggest ever win over the Raiders.
• Every member of the Raiders' back five ran for over 100 metres, led by fullback Xavier Savage's 236 metres.
• Canberra powered through for more than 700 run metres more than Manly, finishing with 2,236. 
• The Sea Eagles made 11 errors in the loss. 
• The Raiders have won five of their last six at GIO Stadium.

Play of the Game

An end-to-end move finished by one of the NRL's fastest players. From the initial presence of mind from Josh Papalii to block the Manly grubber kick at one end, to the well-timed passes from Hudson Young and Jack Wighton, there was plenty to like about this try. 

What they said

"It was probably our best performance for the longest period (of the season). Every individual contributed to that performance and it was a high standard of footy from the boys. To win at this back end of the season, fighting for a spot in the eight, it's exactly what we need, everybody weighing in." - Raiders coach Ricky Stuart.

"We played some good pockets of footy [but] it's about sustainability, and we're just not up to it at the moment. From one aspect it's a good learning curve, but it's a situation that it's not good being in." - Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler. 

What's next 

A spot in the finals will be up for grabs when the Raiders travel to take on the Wests Tigers in the last round of the regular season, with their opponents likely needing a victory to have a chance of avoiding the wooden spoon. 

Manly finish their season with a trip to face the Bulldogs at Accor Stadium on Friday night.