Dominic BrockUpdated June 5, 2026 — 8:17pm,first published 7:24pmYour say: Raiders or Roosters?By Latest Posts8.17pmTRY: Nawaqanitawase opens scoring in return from injuryBy The Roosters’ defence holds up well, as it has done for most of this season, but the Raiders get another tryscoring chance when Hugo Savala loses the ball on halfway and Xavier Savage runs clear down the sideline. But play is called back, with the referee spotting a strip from Savage in a two-man tackle.The penalty puts the Tricolours on the attack and they go through the hands to the right, all the way to the returning Mark Nawaqanitawase. The former (and future) rugby star doesn’t have much room to move but he doesn’t need much, and he wrongfoots Kaeo Weekes and dives over in the corner.Roosters 4, Raiders 0 after 11 minutes8.12pmRoosters error gives Canberra first scoring chanceBy The Roosters have the first attacking foray of the match, Siua Wong going up for an attacking bomb, bringing it down and getting a pass away, but the Tricolours put it through the hands to the left and Hugo Savala runs out of space running towards the corner, and is dragged over the sideline instead.Canberra get down the other end a couple of sets later and Daine Laurie – who is in the centres tonight after playing at lock last week – puts in a grubber that is spilled by Billy Smith. The Raiders get a great tryscoring chance now.Raiders 0, Roosters 0 after six minutes8.08pmAnd we’re offBy Kaeo Weekes kicks this game off for Canberra and the Roosters play out a straightforward set down the left channel of the field, Sam Walker getting a decent last-tackle kick down to Weekes to complete the set.The Roosters have looked great in games when they’ve controlled the ball this season, but they’ve also been the worst team in the league when it comes to making errors – with 13.3 per game.Will they control the ball in this one?Raiders 0, Roosters 0 after two minutes8.05pmWarm-up shotsBy Tom Starling warms up for Canberra.Getty ImagesJames Tedecso and the Roosters.Getty Images8.00pmStorm win a thriller against Knights in tonight’s early gameBy The Melbourne Storm have hung on to beat Newcastle 32-30 in one of the better games we’ve seen this season. The Storm had the majority of possession and Newcastle lost hooker Phoenix Crossland early in the match but several long-range tries from the Knights kept the scores close throughout.Now we’re just moments away from kick-off in Canberra between the Raiders and Roosters.Jahrome Hughes celebrates a Storm try.Getty Images7.54pmStorm lose Coates for the seasonBy In tonight’s early game Melbourne and Newcastle are battling out a thriller, the Storm leading 32-30 in the final minutes, but in bad news for the home side they will be without star winger Xavier Coates for rest of the season.Coates was on the comeback trail after injuring his Achilles in the pre-season, requiring surgery that put him out for three months.Coates had resumed running and looking to integrate with the main squad in the next week when the 25-year-old suffered the crushing injury on Friday at training.“I was running and it just popped,” a shattered Coates told AAP.“I was only running at about 50 per cent and it just went.”Coates attended the Storm’s match at AAMI Park against Newcastle on Friday night and was wearing a moon-boot on his left leg and using a scooter to get around.7.47pmRiddle of the Roosters: Title contenders or error-prone flops?By Dan WalshHow does the NRL’s most talented roster still leave you wondering about their premiership bona fides despite sitting third with a 7-4 record halfway through the season?How does the Roosters’ identity, which coach Trent Robinson speaks of so regularly, fluctuate so wildly between Harlem Globetrotters and Washington Generals – often more than once in the same game?Eighteen errors against Melbourne, following on from 18 errors against the Cowboys in Magic Round, equals a mistake every four and half minutes. Robinson was ropeable after full-time last Saturday and treading familiar territory this week.Under Robinson, the Roosters have always had licence to play what they see, take the calculated gamble and back the attacking brilliance of born entertainers like Walker, Tedesco and Mark Nawaqanitawase.7.38pmNawaqanitawase’s quick return from syndesmosis surgeryBy Explosive Roosters winger Mark Nawaqanitawase is back on the wing tonight after a rapid recovery from syndesmosis tightrope surgery. Nawaqanitawase spent five weeks on the sidelines, while most players who undergo that surgery return after six to eight weeks, according to sports physiotherapist Brien Seeney.7.32pmStrange one that got away from RoostersBy Christian NicolussiThey will never admit it publicly, but in recent weeks the Sydney Roosters have begun asking whose idea it was to let Ethan Strange swap Bondi for the warm embrace of Ricky Stuart in Canberra.The rugby league world sat up and took notice of Strange when he had an absolute blinder on debut for NSW in Origin I, having been promoted to the starting team after Mitchell Moses broke down with a hamstring strain.The Roosters rarely make mistakes when it comes to recruitment and can point to Daly Cherry-Evans, Sam Walker, Naufahu Whyte, even James Tedesco, depending on how far you want to go back, as key acquisitions. But this one was a Strange decision – literally – that could haunt them for years to come.Strange was a Roosters junior and the starting five-eighth in the Tricolours’ SG Ball grand final loss to Penrith in 2022.Read the full story from Christian NicolussiPinned post from 7.24pmYour say: Raiders or Roosters?By 1 of 2