By Matt Bungard6 hours ago
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The Canberra Raiders have thrown away yet another half-time lead, succumbing to their fifth-consecutive loss as the Newcastle Knights came from behind to win 24-16.
Ricky Stuart s men have now won just one of their past seven games, throwing away big halftime leads in four of those defeats.
Canberra led the opening game of Super Saturday 16-0 as the siren sounded for the first half in Wagga Wagga today, 16-14 against Souths last week, 24-12 against the Cowboys the week before that and 25-6 against the Warriors back in round three. I honestly can t put my finger on it, said Josh Papalii when asked about the Raiders performances late in games.
The Leader Newspaper
UNIBET PREMIER LEAGUE DARTS
OWS Darts
Day 1 – Jose de Sousa claimed victory on the first day, with an 8-1 final defeat of Luke Humphries, to include an outstanding average of 114. The Portuguese thrower also enjoyed similar averages earlier of 101 v Mach Kuivenhoven, a 111 against Brendan Dolan and a semi final 104 over Krzysztof Kcluk. ln the final, legs of 10,11,11,14 and 12 were just too much for the former World Youth Champion, Humphries.
Current Premier League star Nathan Aspinall, fired in a 9 darter, but eliminated in the last 16. MvG and Barny crashed out in the fist round.
Day 2 – More fireworks in the 2nd Players Championship, with two 9 darters, the 1st from de Sousa, in his whitewash of Jermaine Wattimena, with a 117 ave. only to lose in the last 8. The 2nd from Stephen Bunting in another Ron Meulenkamp whitewash, in the 2nd round.
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart is confident English stars George Williams and Josh Hodgson will stay next season despite the intense scrutiny around them in recent days.
After the Green Machine crashed to a fourth consecutive loss against South Sydney last week, it has emerged that Williams has told the club he s homesick, while Hodgson had stood down as co-captain before suffering a calf injury three weeks ago.
The revelations have sparked interest in Hodgson from other NRL clubs, while Williams has been linked with Wigan and Warrington but Stuart said on Friday that he was expecting both to remain in Canberra.
The Green Machine rolls back into Wagga Wagga with Canberra playing host to the Newcastle Knights at McDonald Park on Saturday.
The Raiders were successful in their first trip to the heart of the Riverina in 2019 and will be hoping to maintain a perfect record there with the 2019 grand finalists welcoming back star prop Josh Papalii and halfback George Williams in a much-needed boost.
Newcastle will also welcome a change of scenery and with Origin fullback Kalyn Ponga leading the way, and will be looking to make a statement after being challenged by coach Adam O Brien.
But, importantly for game attendees, there s just as much to look forward to off the field with an EISS Super activation providing many fun activities.