Raiders 38
Warriors 12
A 12-year Canberra hoodoo continued for the New Zealand Warriors as a 12-38 hiding from the Raiders further worsened their mid-season National Rugby League slump this afternoon.
The rejuvenated Raiders scored seven tries to two, to make it four consecutive matches without a win for the Warriors who began the weekend 11th on the ladder.
Worryingly, it was a second poor defensive display in as many weeks by coach Ivan Cleary's side after their 12-34 loss to North Queensland.
After a poor start, the Warriors were in the game at 12-16 down at halftime, but offered little on attack in the second half as handling errors and a poor completion rate hurt them.
The Raiders began the round 14th on the ladder with just two wins in 2009.
Canberra Stadium was well established as one of the Warriors' worst venues, with a solitary win from eight visits back in 1997.
Cleary axed five-eighth Nathan Fien midweek, and made more pre-match reshuffles with Simon Mannering moving into the centres, and big forwards Ben Matulino and Russell Packer promoted to the starting lineup.
But it didn't avert a shocking start as the Raiders, without their captain Alan Tongue (thumb) and coming off a 6-46 hiding from Melbourne, flew into their work.
It was 10-0 in as many minutes as the Warriors were sluggish in defence and couldn't stop the Raiders' offloads, with second-rower Tom Learoyd-Lahrs a dominant figure.
Fullback David Milne and centre Jarrod Croker both crossed out wide as the Warriors were caught short on their right side.
But after 20 minutes the Warriors awoke from their slumber with the help of benchman Lance Hohaia, whose consecutive dummy half darts helped captain Steve Price charge over beside the posts.
A Price line break from deep in their territory sparked another raid and the Warriors were in front in the 28th minute when Manu Vatuvei slapped down a bomb and Mannering dashed through. Denan Kemp's conversion made it 12-10.
The Raiders benefited from a 5-1 first half penalty count and snatched back the lead when five-eighth Terry Campese, on trial for a New South Wales berth, capitalised on more good offloads to score out wide.
The Warriors eyeballed the halftime lead but Kemp was called back for a marginal Wade McKinnon forward pass after a slick set play.
Another penalty helped the Raiders extend their lead to 10 soon after the break. After back-to-back sets, Milne pounced on the loose ball to race between Joel Moon and McKinnon for his second.
Little was going right for the Warriors, with Jones' goalline grubber charged down and Milne racing 60m to put the Raiders back on attack. Benchman Travis Waddell dived over for a soft try from dummy half and with Campese's goal it was 28-12 with half an hour left.
The Warriors' woes with set completions continued and the final nail was driven 13 minutes from time when Trevor Thurling scored in a one-on-one with Jones who became a defensive target for the Raiders.
Canberra 38 David Milne 2, Jarrod Croker 2, Terry Campese, Travis Waddell, Trevor Thurling tries; Campese 5 goals
Warriors 12 Steve Price, Simon Mannering tries; Denan Kemp 2 goals
Halftime: Canberra 16, Warriors 12
- NZPA
