Croker became the fourth-youngest player to reach 200 NRL games at the ripe old age of 26 years and 151 days, but he had a big say in the result at ANZ Stadium on Saturday.

Croker scored his 102nd career try to level the scores against Parramatta, and nailed a pressure kick from the sideline late in the piece to secure a huge victory in the context of Canberra's season.

Origin hopefuls on show

Josh Papalii had Tepai Moeroa reaching for the hair straightener when he rattled Parramatta's long-haired back-rower with a huge shot during the first half.

The brutal hit was as good as it gets - Papalii's night was such that when he was good, he was great. But in other patches he went quiet - not the ideal State of Origin audition he would have been hoping for.

Raiders prop Shannon Boyd could be in danger of being labelled good enough to play for his country, but not good enough to play for his state - at least for the moment.

Boyd was solid but teammate Junior Paulo led the way up front, running for 209m to give his Origin hopes one final push.

Canberra needs to hold one line

Every time the Raiders shoot up with a staggered defensive line, they concede a try.

Canberra's right-edge has looked in all sorts of trouble over the past few weeks and Parramatta eventually made them pay - just like Newcastle did, and just like Canterbury did before that.

When the Raiders move up in one line they look impressive and at times unbreakable, but it's simply not happening enough.

Far too often there is someone shooting up out of the line in defence, with Blake Austin and Joey Leilua seemingly experiencing a raft of communication breakdowns.

Moses' mixed bag

Parramatta halfback Mitchell Moses made his long-awaited debut for the Eels and as expected was drafted into the starting line-up at the expense of Will Smith.

Moses wasn't overly threatening with the ball in hand meaning there was no hope Canberra's defence would part like the red sea as he produced a mixed bag.

There's no doubt he would have been dreaming of a match-winning field goal as the clock wound down - but Jordan Rapana rained on the parade.

Leipana flame flickers

Rapana and Joey Leilua emerged as the NRL's best right-edge pairing last year but a few lean weeks had fans momentarily lamenting the end of Canberra's Harlem Globetrotters tour.

But while things might not always go their way, this pair is never lacking in belief. When Leilua was asked if he was playing without confidence during the week, he responded with a cheeky "I've always got confidence brother".

It was on show against the Eels with the "Leipana" duo pulling plenty of tricks out of the bag - including the famous mouse trap - before Rapana scored the match-winning try.