Raiders bury Broncos with stunning second-half surge
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George Williams scored a try and played a hand in three more as the Canberra Raiders hit their straps in the second half to pile on further misery for the Broncos, winning 36-8 at GIO Stadium on Saturday night.
The Broncos looked strong early to stun the Raiders 8-6 at half-time but fell away quickly as the Raiders ran in five tries in 20 minutes to secure their biggest win of the season.
Williams had the ball on a string to provide passes for tries to Jordan Rapana and Nick Cotric before the Raiders playmaker linked with England teammate John Bateman twice to set up a 22-point lead.
Another try to Cotric in the 67th minute put the game to bed in a complete contrast to the first 40 minutes where the Broncos dominated the game with a 60 per cent possession rate.
Match: Raiders v Broncos
Round 14 -
home Team
Raiders
5th Position
away Team
Broncos
15th Position
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
Broncos centre Kotoni Staggs was enormous for the visitors in the first half, providing a one-two point of difference in attack alongside Titans-bound forward David Fifita on the right edge.
The pair combined to set up a scintillating try for Jesse Arthurs to start the game with Staggs delivering a deft kick for his winger after Fifita provided the offload.
However, it was the only highlight in another fadeout from Anthony Seibold's side, who were coached by Peter Gentle for the evening with the coach serving a 14-day quarantine.
Bateman beats Croft on the outside then turns it inside to Williams
The Raiders hit back quickly following Arthurs' effort when Williams sent Rapana over with a cut-out pass for the winger to dive over in the corner.
An error from Raiders winger Cotric off the boot of Darius Boyd sent Herbie Farnworth over to give the Broncos a two-point lead at the break.
However, that’s where the momentum ended for the visitors after a week of controversy that saw 10 members of their squad cleared of a COVID-19 protocol breach.
The club's injury woes also continued with Jake Turpin leaving the field in the first half with a suspected broken hand, while Payne Haas and Kotoni Staggs finished the game on report.
Brisbane's second half was topped off late when Farnworth looked set to cross before Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad pulled off a try-saving effort.
