Ten try Raiders destroy terrible Titans

The Canberra Raiders scored ten tries to three to notch up a 56-16 win over the Titans and their first win at home this season this afternoon in front of 8,000 fans in the Nation's Capital. The win propels the Raiders into the top four and gives the Titans a lot to think about.

It didn't take long for Blake Austin to stake his claim in this game after a try in the 5th minute, a jinking, goosestepping try that started the rout for the Raiders.

Anthony Don pulled one back with his first try after 10 minutes, but three more tries to Raiders through Paul Vaughan, Jarrod Croker and Jordan Rapana would give the Raiders a comfortable lead coming into half-time. Don scored his second try right on half-time to make it respectable at 24-10, but 34 points in a half of footy is not a good sign to come!

A solid half from Vaughan, Josh Papalii and Josh Hodgson was laying the foundation for an encouraging Raiders performance, but it was the second half that would see the Raiders really step up a gear.

It was the Titans that scored first in the second half, however, as Anthony Don went over on the left wing for his hat-trick in the 45thminute. The Titans had a sniff, but they weren't to know at the time, that it would be the last time they'd see points for the game.

The Raiders went on to score six tries in the second half in a performance that would catch the eye of any rugby league fan. Blake Austin scored a double with another jinking try, side-stepping Ryan James and scoring under the stick. His dominance in this game will surely see him rise in the Origin stakes.

Josh Papalii scored a poacher's try on the right wing and then Iosia Soliola, barged over to push the Raiders past 40. It was an Edrick Lee special, after an intercept from a poor Sezer ball, that pushed them past 50!

The Raiders have rarely put teams to the sword in this fashion, but the Titans were their own worst enemies and balls went to ground, defence was non-existent and discipline was lacklustre. Ryan James showed some of the frustrations when going forehead to forehead with Soliola following a dubious tackle on Shannon Boyd in the first half.

The Raiders finished off the destruction with their tenth try of the afternoon as Sam Williams ducked over from dummy half.

Are the Raiders the real deal in 2015, or were the Titans just way off form today? A little of both, probably. The Raiders certainly showed they have the skill to finish off teams when necessary, but their own defence was shown up a little in the first half and may have been more susceptible against a better team.

The Titans will have to pick up their game at home against the Sharks next week, whilst the Raiders get a chance to continue their good form against the Dragons in Wollongong.

Match Details

Canberra Raiders 56 Gold Coast Titans 16
Venue: GIO Stadium
Crowd: 8116
Halftime Score: Canberra Raiders 24 Gold Coast Titans 10

CANBERRA RAIDERS (56)
Tries: Blake Austin (2), Jarrod Croker (2), Paul Vaughan, Jordan Rapana, Josh Papalii, Iosia Soliola, Edrick Lee, Sam Williams
Conversions: Jarrod Croker (8/10)

GOLD COAST TITANS (16)
Tries: Anthony Don (3)
Conversions: Aidan Sezer (2/3)

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:

3 points - Blake Austin
2 points - Josh Papalii
1 point - Jarrod Croker

LeagueUnlimited.com Live Commentary

Apologies for the delay in live updates for this game. We had logistical issues! Time to catch up!

5: TRY CANBERRA RAIDERS
Scored by Blake Austin. Kick to come.
Blake goosesteps his way to the first try

6: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANBERRA RAIDERS
Conversion attempt by Jarrod Croker successful.
Croker with the conversion...

10: TRY GOLD COAST TITANS
Scored by Anthony Don. Kick to come.
A clever kick from Aidan Sezer sees Don score in the corner

11: UNSUCCESSFUL CONVERSION GOLD COAST TITANS
Conversion attempt by Aidan Sezer unsuccessful.
Waved away

17: TRY CANBERRA RAIDERS
Scored by Paul Vaughan. Kick to come.
Vaughan powers through the Titans' defense

18: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANBERRA RAIDERS
Conversion attempt by Jarrod Croker successful.
Jarrod Crocker converts Vaughan's try

26: TRY CANBERRA RAIDERS
Scored by Jarrod Croker. Kick to come.
Croker scores

27: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANBERRA RAIDERS
Conversion attempt by Jarrod Croker successful.
Croker converts

33: TRY CANBERRA RAIDERS
Scored by Jordan Rapana. Kick to come.
A breakaway try to Rapana

34: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANBERRA RAIDERS
Conversion attempt by Jarrod Croker successful.
Converted from in front.

36: Lots of points in this game so far as we are back live. Apologies again for the technical issues in this game.

36: The Raiders have been impressive so far in this game.

37: Nice run from Jarrod Croker sees the Raiders on the halfway line at tackle 2!

38: Just two minutes remain in the half as the Titans run it out of their 20 metres, and grab a ruck penalty to help them out

39: TRY GOLD COAST TITANS
Scored by Anthony Don. Kick to come.
The Titans attack down the left and a great cutout ball from Kane Elgey puts Anthony Don in down the left and he runs it around closer to the posts.

39: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION GOLD COAST TITANS
Conversion attempt by Aidan Sezer successful.
Sezer converts from the left and the halftime has been blown.

40: That's half-time here at GIO Stadium in a half of footy that brought 34 points. Defence has been optional here in Canberra!

40: Some quick stats from the first half:

Possession: 56% - Raiders
Completions: Raiders 83% - Titans 81%
Line Breaks: 5-1 Raiders
Metres: 889-681 Raiders
Tackles: 160-150 Titans
Missed Tackles: 10-6 Titans
Errors: 4-4

40: We're underway in the second half! The Titans start with the ball.

42: Soliola to Austin for a mini-break down the middle, but the play ends with a knock-on from Canberra.

42: Austin, a little slow to get back onsite here. Looks to be hold his hamstring...

43: Non-attacking bomb from the Titans that Edrick Lee has bobbled and the Titans will get the ball back from the scrum.

44: The Titans are attacking the line and earn another set from a penalty. Big chance here!

44: Ryan James tries to barge over, but is stopped by some solid Raiders defence.

45: We're checking for a possible try here to Don in the left corner! Looks good for the Titans

45: TRY GOLD COAST TITANS
Scored by Anthony Don. Kick to come.
A hat-trick to Anthony Don! Passing from right to left, although it wasn't pretty, Don launches in the air and plants it down in the corner.
More points early in this second half!

45: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION GOLD COAST TITANS
Conversion attempt by Aidan Sezer successful.
Great conversion from the left touchline

48: An average crowd of 8,116 here in Canberra on a Saturday afternoon.

49: The Raiders are on the attack now, inside the Titans 10 metres.

49: The Titans throw it around in their in-goal area from the left to the right, trying to get out, but it comes undone and goes dead!

51: TRY CANBERRA RAIDERS
Scored by Blake Austin. Kick to come.
Blake Austin dummies and busts through for this second try! He's a crafty character!

52: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANBERRA RAIDERS
Conversion attempt by Jarrod Croker successful.
Croker slots it through and the Raiders are 14 points clear again!

52: Somehow Austin just keeps doing this, darting runs, dummies, clever plays. Is he a bolter for Origin?

54: Hoffman takes the Titans attacking kick and runs a nifty 20 metres back to the 30 metre line. Titans will be needing score next.

55: A bit of an altercation here. Ryan James is getting fired up at Soliola here. Raiders get the penalty for a strip though.

56: TRY CANBERRA RAIDERS
Scored by Jarrod Croker. Kick to come.
Another try for the Raiders and the second for Croker! He runs hard at the Titans' right fringe and manages to ground the ball as he is rolled over backwards!

57: UNSUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANBERRA RAIDERS
Conversion attempt by Jarrod Croker unsuccessful.
Croker's tally has hit 18 points here, but he can't convert his try

59: VIDEO REF - Josh Papalii may have scored here after a kick from Williams to the right wing.

59: TRY CANBERRA RAIDERS
Scored by Josh Papalii. Kick to come.
Another well crafted try to the Raiders! They're running away with this now. Rapana went up for the Williams kick and fumbles it back to Papalii who scores in the corner!

60: UNSUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANBERRA RAIDERS
Conversion attempt by Jarrod Croker unsuccessful.
No conversion, but the Raiders have an unassailable lead now.

62: Great run from Moseley at dummy half down the middle and the Titans were ALMOST in, but there was a bad pass at the end from Elgey. Blake Austin with an excellent tackle as well. He's giving it!

64: The Titans, through Sezer, attempt a 40/20, but it's gone too deep! It's a 20 metre restart for the Raiders.

65: James Roberts attempts to kick the ball up field after a Raiders mistake, but steps out before he kicks! The Raiders get a scrum feed on the Titans' 40 metre line.

67: Six more for the Raiders after the Titans touched it. They're looking good for another one here...

68: TRY CANBERRA RAIDERS
Scored by Iosia Soliola. Kick to come.
That's 40! The Raiders score through Iosia Soliola. Just pushing over from a dummy half ball from Croker.
Too easy!

69: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANBERRA RAIDERS
Conversion attempt by Jarrod Croker successful.
Conversion successful and the Raiders still have time to hit 50!

70: The Raiders make a mistake in the ruck and the Titans will get the feed on the Raiders' 20 metre line. A chance for consolation points here.

71: TRY CANBERRA RAIDERS
Scored by Edrick Lee. Kick to come.
Lee grabs an intercept from a Sezer ball and runs 80 metres to score! Wow! What a game from the Raiders here today!

73: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANBERRA RAIDERS
Conversion attempt by Jarrod Croker successful.
That's the half century for the Raiders!

74: So many strong performances from the Raiders today. Baptiste also gets a try, but is pulled down short....

75: TRY CANBERRA RAIDERS
Scored by Sam Williams. Kick to come.
More points! After a good run from Baptiste, Sam Williams ducks over from dummy half! The Raiders are unstoppable!

76: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANBERRA RAIDERS
Conversion attempt by Jarrod Croker successful.
Easy conversion for Croker. He has 24 points now!

76: The small, but vocal crowd continue to chant their team's name. First win of the season at home for the Raiders!

78: Burr tries to offload after a half-break, but it goes back to the Raiders, who knock it on. Titans feed just near halfway.

79: The Titans with one last chance. They bomb it to Don's wing, but he fumbles it and the Raiders will get it back. That'll be the ball game here!

80: Game over man! The Raiders run away with this one 56-16. It's a dominant performance, but a very poor defensive effort from the Titans.

80: Blake Austin has stamped his authority on this game and the Raiders have won a huge game for them to put them in the NRL top 4! Who'd have thought it...