Raiders overpower Titans to make it three in a row

A dominant Raiders' forward pack laid the foundation for a 36-24 road victory over the Titans on Saturday afternoon, with Nick Cotric and Sebastian Kris both scoring doubles to help Canberra notch their biggest score of the year. 

The only sour note was the loss of influential forward Adam Elliott to a hip injury in the second half, after he had looked on track to join Josh Papalii and Joseph Tapine in running for over 150 metres at Cbus Super Stadium.

Tapine's total haul of 173 metres was all the more impressive given he spent 10 minutes in the bin after throwing a punch in a first-half melee with Titans hooker Aaron Booth. 

Jack Wighton played a key role in the opening try to Matthew Timoko and another for Kris in the second half, while Cotric's first-half double helped Canberra lead 16-12 at the break. 

Brian Kelly and Tanah Boyd each scored in the first 40 to keep the Titans in the game, while Jayden Campbell scored a double off the bench, but the hosts couldn't foot it with the in-form Raiders.  

Hudson Young and Tapine each scored in the second half, with Kris scoring a double in between, to cap off a dominant display for the Green Machine. 

Match Snapshot

• Matthew Timoko scored the first of Canberra's three first-half tries, while wing Nick Cotric crossed for the other two to make it seven tries in his last eight games against the Titans.
• Sebastian Kris also scored a double for the Raiders. 
• Tanah Boyd was in the thick of the action in the first 40 minutes, setting up Brian Kelly's try with a grubber before scoring one himself just on half time.  
• Jayden Campbell scored two tries in the second half in an impressive display off the bench. 
• Joseph Tapine was sent to the bin seven minutes before the break for throwing a punch, after he took exception to a low tackle from Aaron Booth, but finished the match with 173 metres, a try and 29 tackles.  
• Adam Elliott, Josh Papalii and Tapine all had over 100 run metres in the first half, but Elliott's day ended early in the second half due to a hip injury. 
• Hudson Young scored early in the second half then delivered the final pass for Kris a few minutes later for his second assist of the day.
• The Raiders have now won seven of their past eight games against the Titans.

Play of the Game

A piece of individual brilliance from Jack Wighton saw him take a horror pass from dummy half and turn it into the Raiders' fifth try. After evading two would-be tacklers, Wighton found Young who broke two more tackles then popped an offload for try-scorer Kris.

What They Said

"We fought hard in the first half and then obviously let too many soft tries in and had to chase the game at the end. It's the same sort of issues [as past games], inexperience in key positions is hurting us and that's what is costing us." – Titans coach Justin Holbrook. 

"The last two weeks playing the Warriors and Titans, respectfully with their positions on the table with nothing to lose, they are tough games to play. That game out there tonight was just real chaotic, fast, throwing the ball around, going side to side." – Raiders coach Ricky Stuart. 

What's Next

The Titans head to Melbourne on Friday night to take on the Storm at AAMI Park, while Canberra will look to make it four wins on the trot at home when they host the ladder-leading Panthers at GIO Stadium on Saturday.