A patient Canberra outlasted Penrith 20-10 on Sunday to remain in contention for the NRL finals.
On the back of a solid defensive effort, the Raiders trailed 6-0 at halftime but, with a strong wind behind them in the second half, they finished over the top of the home side at Penrith.
Canberra didn’t get on the scoreboard until the 46th minute when Jarrod Croker scored a benefit-of-the-doubt try and duly converted to tie up the scores.
Josh McCrone then raced 70 metres to score the Raiders’ second try after he picked up a Luke Walsh grubber and outsprinted Brad Tighe for the visitors to lead 12-6 after 54 minutes.
Joe Picker scored from a lucky rebound from a Raiders’ kick six minutes later and Croker’s third conversion took them out to an 18-6 lead.
Croker added a penalty goal after a Panthers’ strip in the 73rd minute to seal Canberra’s 10th win of the year.
Michael Gordon scored a consolation try in the 73rd minute, but it was long before that the Raiders laid the platform for the win.
With a significant wind behind them, the Panthers started the game in fine style, opening the scoring in the fourth minute when Josh Mansour crossed.
The winger scored after fullback Gordon created extra space out wide and through a clever final pass.
With Luke Walsh’s sideline conversion, the homeside led 6-0 early, but that was the only points Penrith could manage in the first half despite enjoying the better of field position.
Tim Grant lost the ball forward after breaking the line in the ninth minute and, three minutes later, fellow prop Sam McKendry was held up over the line.
In a lacklustre 40 minutes, in which the Raiders hardly looked like scoring a try, the only other possible points were turned down on the stroke of halftime with a Michael Jennings touchdown called back for a forward pass.
Jennings and Raiders’ back-rower Josh Papalii were both placed on report.
Jennings has two problems – a late tackle on McCrone when he put through a 28th-minute kick and a 45th-minute high tackle on Picker.
Papalii is in trouble for a hit off the ball on Panthers’ five-eighth Lachlan Coote when the Raiders were in possession in the 29th minute.
