NRL grand final: Raiders player ratings

Player ratings for the Raiders team for the NRL grand final against the Roosters.

1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad: They said 'All the way with CNK' and the man himself ran all the way to 236 metres and eight busts before fatigue and cramp ended his night with 10 to go. Arguably had a chance to stop Verrills' opening try but was a constant threat with ball in hand. One of his best efforts of the year otherwise. 8

2. Nik Cotric: Got through those tough carries his side needed, finishing with 144 metres . 6.5

3. Jarrod Croker: The Raiders skipper seemed to be everywhere, no less so than when saving a try shortly before half-time on the wrong side of the field. Though his final tally didn't even reach 50 his influence and defence were huge. 7

4. Joseph Leilua: You constantly felt like anything could happen when Leilua was near the play and often it did. His offloads caused some trouble and he was generally hard to bring to ground but bombed a potential try assist at 8-8 against 12 men. Managed his duel with Latrell Mitchell well and broke the line twice. 7

5. Jordan Rapana: Left hanging by inside man Leilua with a potential try begging but worked his way up to 138 metres. 6

6. Jack Wighton: A man possessed. Bruising defence, cheeky short-side kicks, a monster when running the ball. Almost scored early supporting his own kick and was the man to finally bust the Roosters open. Was a constant threat and no player was less deserving of being on the losing side. 9

7. Aiden Sezer: Looked a bit lost, particularly early on as Hodgson steered the ship and Wighton provided the spark. Worked his way into it in the second half with some neat kicks. 5.5

8. Josh Papalii: Caught flat-footed at marker for Verrills' opening try but a typically monumental stint in the middle, playing the first 55 minutes straight. Started the second half on fire as the Raiders wrested a share of the lead and was totally gassed by the time he was rested. Came back after just 10 minutes – could not have offered any more than he did. 8.5

9. Josh Hodgson: Very busy early, looking to put on some big shots and scheming out of dummy-half with the odd pinpoint kick. Held things together when they threatened to go the wrong way and defended superbly. 8

10. Iosia Soliola: Struggled to match the Roosters' middles early but defended well with his 31 tackles. 6

11. John Bateman: Mr Perpetual Motion tackled himself to a standstill and wasn't afraid to chance his arm in attack. A half-century of tackles, two offloads and 100 metres for the remarkable Englishman. 8

12. Elliott Whitehead: Set the tone with some hyper-aggressive defence that helped swing momentum back Canberra's way after a slow start. Won't be in many of the highlights but a huge reason why the Raiders went within a sniff of a premiership. 8

13. Joseph Tapine: Gave away two silly early penalties, one of which conceded two points, but made amends in his second stint with some dangerous runs and offloads. 6

Interchange

14. Bailey Simonsson: Got the final 10 minutes at fullback once an exhausted Nicoll-Klokstad came off and didn't have much chance to make an impact. 3

15. Emre Guler: Busy in the 24 minutes he was afforded, making 78 metres from eight carries and 12 tackles. 5.5

16. Corey Horsburgh: Big Red certainly didn't looked overawed in his first grand final, throwing himself into everything when injected at the half-hour mark, getting close to 100 metres with 20 tackles. 6.5

17. Dunamis Lui: started his night with an error and finished with just 26 minutes for 53 metres and 15 tackles. 4

• NRL grand final: Sydney Roosters player ratings