NRL: Raiders comeback stuns Roosters

Raiders players celebrate after winning the round five NRL match against the Sydney Roosters. Photo / Getty Images

Canberra centre Jarrod Croker held his nerve to steer the Raiders to a remarkable 24-22 comeback victory over the Sydney Roosters at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.

Croker, playing in his 100th game in the NRL for Canberra, calmly converted his own try three minutes from fulltime to give the Raiders a gritty win.

The conversion from close range was a moment of redemption for Croker, who is still reminded of his costly 2010 semi-final penalty miss from an almost identical position against Wests Tigers.

He said the match-winning kick still had him shaking from nerves after the game.

"It's obviously nice to get one back, I'm certainly owed one," the 22-year-old said.

"(The 2010 miss) still runs through the back of your mind, but like I said that one was a low this one is a high."

The Raiders fought back from a 16-0 at halftime to record the biggest NRL comeback of 2013 while the round five loss ended a three game winning streak for the Roosters.

Raiders captain David Shillington was inspirational, making 144 metres in attack and forcing several turnovers with his confrontational defence.

The Raiders' handling was dreadful early as they completed less than 50 per cent of their sets in the first half in front of 10,669 fans.

Their errors allowed the Roosters to score 16 unanswered points with tries to James Maloney, Michael Oldfield and Mitchell Aubusson.

Croker sparked a fightback five minutes into the second half when his flick pass found unmarked winger Edrick Lee who scored in the corner against a side which hadn't conceded a point in their past two games.

"They came pretty quick in the end and they got some confidence out of scoring. They were too good," said Roosters coach Trent Robinson.

The Raiders grew another leg after their first try, earning back-to-back sets before halfback Sam Williams wriggled his way over in the 50th minute.

It took some magic from Roosters second-rower Sonny Bill Williams to stem the flow, splitting the Raiders defence before throwing a no-look pass to Anthony Minichiello who scooped the ball off his toes and dived over for the 55th minute try.

But the Raiders hit back again with just 15 minutes on the clock, Sandor Earl leaping above two Rooster defenders to snatch a Williams crossfield kick to bring it back to a four-point ball game.

Sustained pressure from the Raiders then saw Lee return the favour to Croker with a great no-look pass, helping the Raiders to a memorable win.

Coach David Furner described the last ditch pass by Lee as something special.

"You can come up with a game plan and structure but that little pass, that was pretty good," Furner said.

Roosters lock Boyd Cordner was taken off late in the first half with a head knock, but is not expected to miss Friday night's clash against Canterbury.

- AAP