A first-half demolition job from an understrength Raiders side has ended the Wests Tigers' season on a dire note with a 56-10 thrashing at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday.
After their finals spot was confirmed following the Broncos' loss to St George Illawarra on Saturday, Raiders coach Ricky Stuart opted to rest stars Jack Wighton and Elliott Whitehead for the contest.
It didn't matter as the Raiders raced to a 42-0 lead at half-time with the Wests Tigers producing a diabolical defensive effort with the breeze in their face for the opening 40 minutes.
The entire Raiders back five crossed for tries with Sebastian Kris dominant on the left edge and hooker Zac Woolford having a field day in the middle with two try assists to start the game.
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The Wests Tigers came out firing in the second half with two tries in three minutes giving the home crowd something to cheer about, but it was all too late with the Raiders setting up an unassailable lead.
A rampaging effort from Josh Papalii with 12 minutes left on the clock helped the Raiders reach 50, proving the perfect warm-up to their sudden-death finals match against the Storm at AAMI Park next week.
Raining tries for the Raiders
Match snapshot
- The Raiders led 42-0 at half-time after running in seven tries in a dominant opening 40 minutes, their biggest-ever lead over the Wests Tigers.
- The result was just the third time the Raiders have recorded 50 points against the Wests Tigers in a match.
- Raiders stars Jack Wighton and Elliott Whitehead were rested for the clash after the side's finals position was confirmed on Saturday.
- Jamal Fogarty was rested by the visitors in the second half while Xavier Savage left the field for a head injury assessment but later returned.
- Canberra have now won nine of their last 10 matches against the Wests Tigers.
- Hudson Young has now scored six tries in his last four games as he continues to bolt into contention for World Cup honours at season's end.
- The Raiders will play finals footy for the third time in four seasons.
- Wests Tigers forward Zane Musgrove was placed on report and sin-binned late in the contest for foul play on Raiders prop Corey Horsburgh.
- Horsburgh and Jake Simpkin were both placed on report for separate incidents stemming from the match.
- The Wests Tigers finish 16th for the regular season, their worst placing since coming into the competition in 2000.
- Wests Tigers farewelled James Tamou, Jock Madden, Kelma Tuilagi, James Roberts and Luke Garner in their final game of the year.
Play of the game
Raiders pair Jordan Rapana and Seb Kris had a field day on the left edge with their combination coming up trumps on a few occasions, including this stunner in the 20th minute.
Rapana & Kris are long-range kings
What they said
"Any hit out without any problems with injury is a good hit out. We're in good form, the players are full of belief and have confidence. For them to do what they've done in the last three months, it's been an extraordinary feat, and it's not over yet. We're not just there to make up the numbers like a lot of people think. I can understand a lot of people thinking we won't make the semis halfway through the competition but the toughness of these blokes I'm coaching makes me very proud as a coach." - Raiders coach Ricky Stuart.
"It was really tough and we spoke about the last game together, the connection and one of our home venues, it was important to play well but really poor first half and it could've been extremely ugly had we stayed on that path. We had to change some things and be a lot better. It doesn't change the full-time result but 16-10 in the second half was a better outcome than what it could've potential got to which would've been very dark and bad for the club." - Wests Tigers interim coach Brett Kimmorley.
NRL Press Conference: Wests Tigers v Raiders - Round 25, 2022
What's next
The Raiders will travel to Melbourne next weekend for a sudden-death finals match against the Storm at AAMI Park.
Raiders stars Jack Wighton and Elliott Whitehead will be back on deck after being rested against the Tigers following confirmation they'll finish in the top eight.
The season is over for the Wests Tigers with club collecting its first and unwanted wooden spoon in a campaign to forget for the joint venture. A few players will be in contention for World Cup spots including five-eighth Adam Doueihi, who is likely to play for Lebanon at the tournament.