NRLW 2024, Round 1, Wests Tigers v Canberra Raiders, match report, analysis, stats, score, highlights

The Raiders made a roaring start to their second NRLW season, scoring six tries in a 32-12 thrashing of the Wests Tigers at Campbelltown Sports Stadium on Sunday.

Canberra’s three four-pointers in the first 10 minutes became five before the game had even reached 25 minutes, with veteran midfielder Zahara Temara converting all but one for a 28-0 lead.

It has been a dream start for Darrin Borthwick’s side, who finished just two points off the final last season with wins in five of their nine games, and now prepare for a mouth-watering clash against champions Newcastle on Saturday.

The big win began with a powerful run from Mackenzie Wiki which saw her launch a late pass to Madison Bartlett for the opening goal, before Alanna Dummett added another in the far corner minutes later.

Wiki then got one after a break from Monalisa Soliola and after Simaima Taufa broke forward from close range, Wests Tigers were facing a tough climb.

When they finally crossed the line, the race was eventually called off by Bunker, with Temara colliding with Canberra’s fifth shortly after.

A goal by Rikeya Horne cut the deficit to 28-6 at halftime.

Harmony Crichton wasted a golden chance to score another goal for the Wests Tigers early in the second half when he let the ball go over the line, and almost immediately afterwards Bartlett made no mistake with his second goal from the corner.

Botille Vette-Welsh’s try, coupled with Pauline Piliae-Rasabale’s second conversion, gave the hosts a chance in the final quarter, but they failed to create enough pressure to really trouble Canberra.

Match snapshot

• With a double on Sunday, Madison Bartlett took her NRLW try tally to 20.

• Wests Tigers committed 10 errors and completed just 64% of their sets.
• Zahara Temara, the NRLW’s all-time leading scorer, took her career points tally to over 150 during the win, in which she bagged 12 points from a try and four conversions.
• Simaima Taufa ran for 131 metres and made 28 tackles for the Green Machine.

Game of the game

A monster carry from Mackenzie Wiki was followed by a clever late offload to set up the opening try. It was Madison Bartlett’s 19th try at NRLW level and an example of just how lethal this Canberra backline can be when they switch it on.

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