ROUND 1 Penrith Panthers v Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs

[TITAN PETE]

SATURDAY
Canberra Raiders v Melbourne Storm at Canberra Stadium, 5:30pm #NRLCANMEL

RAIDERS: Josh Dugan, Blake Ferguson, Jarrod Croker, Shaun Berrigan, Reece Robinson, Terry Campese (c), Josh McCrone, David Shillington, Travis Waddell, Learoyd-Lahrs, Josh Papalii , Bronson Harrison , Shaun Fensom. Reserves (from): Glen Buttriss, Joel Thompson, Dane Tilse, Brett White, Trevor Thurling


STORM: Billy Slater, Matt Duffie, Dane Nielsen, Justin O'Neill, Anthony Quinn, Gareth Widdop, Cooper Cronk, Jesse Bromwich, Cameron Smith (c), Bryan Norrie, Sika Manu, Ryan Hoffman, Todd Lowrie. Reserves (from): Ryan Hinchcliffe, Kevin Proctor, Siosaia Vave, Michael Greenfield, Sisa Waqa, Rory Kostjasyn

[TITAN PETE]

Storm 24 def. Raiders 19

The Moment: A forward-pass ruling on Josh McCrone’s floater for Blake Ferguson in the 37th minute drew howls from the Raiders camp in post-match discussions but Billy Slater’s athleticism to steal his side the two competitions points was this game’s talent talking point. The diminutive (178cm) fullback timed his leap for Cooper Cronk’s pinpoint 76th-minute kick into the in-goal to perfection, soaring above opposite Josh Dugan (188cm) to grab the Steeden and score. There were massive plusses on the Raiders’ ledger though, with Dugan relentless in his carting of the footy with 21 runs for 257 metres, plus a game-high nine tackle-breaks. And we can’t help thinking the home team was harshly done by when Cooper Cronk was awarded the Storm’s second try, which scooted the visitors out to a 12-nil lead after just eight minutes. Cronk clearly manhandled Raiders’ captain Terry Campese chasing his grubber kick, with replays showing the Storm halfback grabbing Campese around his torso in a tackling motion. There were penalties awarded in other games for players tackling opponents without the ball, so why not here? Over to you, Mr Harrigan.