It took just 28 minutes for Caleb Aekins to endear himself to the Raiders' faithful, doing the seemingly impossible and holding up a rampaging Maika Sivo.
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The Parramatta winger stepped inside Bailey Simonsson and looked set for a second try but Aekins refused to give up the goal line, despite giving up an almost 15kg weight discrepancy.
Aekins won't remember his Raiders debut fondly though, after the Eels turned on the style in the second half to win 35-10. Sivo still finished with a try, and produced a key offload in the build up to Shaun Lane's spectacular second-half try.
15 long years
Winning in Canberra is a rare feeling for the Parramatta Eels, one they've not experienced since July 1, 2006.
Back then John Howard was still Prime Minister, the Wests Tigers were premiers, Matthew Elliott was coaching the Raiders and Clinton Schifcofske was captain.
Canberra's oldest player Sia Soliola was still a bright-eyed teenager at the Sydney Roosters, where Stuart was still pursuing his first NRL coaching gig.
The Raiders finished seventh that season.
Huge crowd
The 20,089 who turned out at Canberra Stadium was the largest crowd here since 26,567 piled in to watch the Raiders beat Souths in the 2019 preliminary final.
The result? Absolute chaos outside the venue in the lead up to kickoff.
Some supporters were stuck in traffic within a stone's throw of Canberra Stadium for almost an hour, and many people gave up waiting to enter one of the car parks on the eastern side of the ground, pulling up on the side of the road instead and legging it the rest of the way.
Another rough call?
With 10 minutes to go and the Raiders attacking Parramatta's line, Sivo looked to spill a bomb which Hudson Young regathered, only to have it knocked out in a two-man tackle while trying to score a try.
Instead of stopping play for the knock on, or penalising Parramatta for knocking the ball out, referee Ben Cummins allowed play to continue.
He received an earful from Josh Papalii, and subsequently blew a penalty which helped Parramatta march the ball upfield. They scored the match sealer at the end of that set.
In fairness this wasn't a match-turning decision, but Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has every right to feel aggrieved with another frustrating call against his team.
CHN
He was 18th man but unused last week, the closest Corey Harawira-Naera has come to an NRL field since his drink-driving conviction earlier this year.
This week he was back in the NSW Cup side, doing everything in his power to remind Raiders coach Ricky Stuart that he is ready for a return to his top 17.
Harawira-Naera scored two the Raiders' first two tries in the curtain raiser on Saturday, as Canberra's NSW Cup side came from behind to beat Parramatta 30-22.
For what it's worth, Sebastian Kris was Stuart's 18th man this week.