The Raiders sealed their stunning win on Saturday courtesy of a Sebastian Kris falcon and according to coach Ricky Stuart “it was probably the only thing that went” Canberra’s way.
Canberra booked its spot in the semi-finals with a 28-20 win which was built on the back of a resilient defensive effort early in the game as Melbourne peppered its line.
That was only the start of what Stuart described as a “tough” night for his players, proud of the way they responded then and throughout the game.
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“We got a bit of luck off that [the falcon] and it put us out in front but it was a tough night,” he said.
“Melbourne did a really good job getting out of their own end of the footy field. We just didn’t get any good ball. There were some calls there that were tough calls. We didn’t get any 50-50s and you need them. The way the players hung in makes me so proud and we got a strike of luck on that header.”
The Storm were awarded three set restarts in the opening 16 minutes as the Raiders attempted to slow down the home side’s momentum, defending valiantly to impress Stuart.
“It was a good passage of play,” he said of the early defence on their own line.
“We were out on our legs there for a number of phases of that game, both first half and second half. They got a lot of six-agains in the first 15 to 20 minutes, a lot of ball in our end of the field and the way they defended was a credit to themselves.
“They responded really well the players. Their response to that first seven-minute period was a big part of the win.”
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The Raiders will once again be outsiders for next week’s meeting with the Eels despite their stunning run of form recently, having won five-straight and eight of their last nine.
But Stuart is not giving that much thought and already started to play mind games by declaring “no one” was giving his team a chance next week.
“It’s easy for us. No one expects us to win, no one expects us to beat Parramatta at Bankwest,” he said.
“I don’t want to get into Parra now. I just want to enjoy tonight, have a few beers and enjoy that win.”
