Raiders edge past Rabbitohs, Harawira-Naera hospitalised

The Raiders emerged 33-26 winners over the Rabbitohs on Saturday night, in a match marred by a serious incident involving Canberra forward Corey Harawira-Naera.

The game paused for a long period with 14 minutes to go as medical staff from both clubs attended to Harawira-Naera, who dropped to the ground during a stoppage in play, with confirmation later coming that he had suffered a seizure. 

The Kiwi was examined at hospital and discharged on Sunday. 

The Raiders went on to win the contest, which see-sawed across the 80 minutes, with Albert Hopoate starring with a personal hat-trick of tries and forward Corey Horsburgh laying the platform with a brilliant first-half performance. 

Days on from being overlooked for selection in the Maroons squad for Origin I, Horsburgh excelled in his move from the middle to the edge, scoring his side's opening try, playing a leading hand in the next two which followed and coming up with a handful of big defensive plays. 

While it was South Sydney who opened the scoring, through Jed Cartwright grabbing his first NRL try, the Raiders scored three times in the space of 10 minutes to lead 16-4.

After Horsburgh's try a quickfire double from Hopoate gave the Green Machine a handy lead.

But tries to Alex Johnston and Isaiah Tass five minutes either side of half-time got the Bunnies back into the contest, before Johnston's second on 50 minutes, coupled with a Blake Taafe conversion, gave them the lead once again. 

The two sides traded tries through hookers Tom Starling and Damien Cook, before Hopoate struck the telling blow seven minutes from time, with a late Jarrod Croker penalty and Jamal Fogarty field goal sealing Canberra's seventh win of the year.

Match Snapshot 

• Raiders fullback Sebastian Kris didn't play beyond the 25th minute of the match due to an ankle injury. Jordan Rapana left the field late in the game with a head knock. 
• On the back of 58 percent possession in the first half the Raiders made five line breaks to South Sydney's two and missed just two tackles compared to their opponent's 21. 
• It was the Raiders' first game at Accor Stadium since the 2019 grand final.
• Following his double in Round 13, Rabbitohs winger Alex Johnston has now scored nine tries in 11 games against the Raiders.

Play of the Game 

A nice moment for Corey Horsburgh in what was a huge game for the 25-year-old forward. There were a number of other plays from him which could have featured here, from forcing dropouts to tough carries which led to tries. 

What They Said 

"I thought there was some real effort in a lot of areas and a lot of fight, a lot of commitment to what we are doing. But at 24-22 we have got to put that game away by doing our jobs, and we don't do our jobs, simple as that. We had five sets to defend and we couldn't get it done." – Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou. 

"[Corey] has gone with one of our staff members to hospital by ambulance. They are situations that are very uncommon and they are scary, and when it's one of your mates it makes it even harder. He got great medical attention immediately." – Raiders coach Ricky Stuart. 

"We had to come back three times being down on the scoreboard. That just takes guts. That's a big win, coming back from the adversity we faced." – Raiders coach Ricky Stuart. 

What's Next 

A trip to the Gold Coast to play the Titans awaits the Rabbitohs in Round 14, with Davvy Moale set to bolster their forward pack, which they'll hope will include Cameron Murray and Jai Arrow after their involvement in Origin I. The Raiders meanwhile are on the road to the Wests Tigers.