Raiders book preliminary final berth with dominant elimination victory

The Canberra Raiders have secured a spot in the NRL preliminary final with a commanding 28-10 elimination final victory at GIO Stadium, delivering a performance that Ricky Stuart described as "the best complete game we've played all season" and that positions the Raiders as genuine premiership contenders for the first time since their 2019 grand final appearance.

The victory was built on the Raiders' forwards dominating the physical contest in the opening half, with Josh Papali'i and Elliott Whitehead combining for 450 metres in their first 40 minutes — a running performance that stretched the opposition defensive line and created the space that halfback Jamal Fogarty exploited for two first-half tries that established the contest-defining lead.

The crowd of 26,800 at GIO Stadium — the largest Raiders home attendance of the 2026 season — created an atmosphere that Stuart credited as a genuine performance factor, noting that the noise level during the defensive sets in the second half had disrupted the opposition's communication and contributed to the completion-rate problems that undermined their comeback attempt.

The Raiders will travel to face the minor premiers in next week's preliminary final, with a place in the grand final the prize for the winner. Stuart confirmed that captain Jack Wighton had cleared the head injury assessment that had been monitored during the week and would play, while forward Hudson Young is expected to be available following the ankle sprain that caused his replacement in the third quarter.

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