Warriors end Raiders unbeaten start to NRL season

It was only the Green Machine's desperate defence that kept them in the game, thanks to three try-saving tackles.

Canberra fullback Jordan Rapana made one and winger Xavier Savage made two - the second of which came with a bit of help from Hudson Young, in his 100^th NRL game.

The visitors even looked like they could be on course for a gutsy win, but ended up going down 18-10 in Christchurch on Friday night.

A Nick Cotric error proved costly, with the Warriors able to capitalise immediately - Roger Tuivasa-Sheck turning back the clock to score what proved to be the match-sealing try.

The Raiders were also unlucky to have two tries disallowed by the bunker - one for Ethan Strange and the other for Joe Tapine.

Both could have gone either way, with the bunker needing a long time on each to come to a decision.

But Canberra captain Elliott Whitehead wasn't using that as an excuse and said they "let themselves down" at times.

Whitehead played 35 minutes in his return from a calf injury, finishing the game at lock after Zac Hosking come on to play second row in the first half.

"It can get frustrating, but we've got a job to do and we've got to look past that," Whitehead said.

"I thought in parts of the game we were really good and in other parts we probably let ourselves down in not finishing where we want to finish in our sets.

"It's something we have to look back at and fix up for next week, but there was a lot of effort there."

It's the Raiders' first loss of the season and the Warriors' first win.

The Warriors could be without fullback Taine Tuaupiki after he failed his head injury assessment, which could see Tuivasa-Sheck return to the No.1 jersey next week.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart could look to bolster his forward pack through the return of prop Corey Horsburgh, while centre Sebastian Kris will hopefully return from concussion.

While Rapana had done brilliantly to prevent a try, the Warriors scored off the resulting penalty anyway - halfback Shaun Johnson putting Addin Fonua-Blake through a hole to open the scoring.

Having come into the game as the best completing side in the NRL, the Raiders were sloppy early, making a few uncharacteristic errors to gift away possession.

But their defence kept them in the game and they were able to get into the grind after the home side dominated the opening 15 minutes.

Savage produced a try-saver on Fonua-Blake and he also cleaned up a Rapana drop from a high kick.

Stuart was full of praise for Rapana, who ran for 205 metres and was again excellent in the No.1 jersey.

"You only had to look at his game tonight - he was probably our best player," he said.

"He was enormous, he just amazes me Rap.

"I think he's playing some of his best football in a position he hasn't had a lot of time in. He's doing a great job for the team."

Some Matt Timoko brilliance put the Raiders within striking distance at half-time, beating Tuivasa-Sheck before brushing off Marcelo Montoya to make it 6-4 to the home side at the break.

A bad Rocco Berry read helped Cotric cross in the corner and Canberra looked like they might get away with the two points, leading 10-6 after 55 minutes.

But Luke Metcalf was able to finish off a Dallin Watene-Zelezniak cross-field run to restore the Warriors' lead with a quarter to play.

That was iced when Tuivasa-Sheck cashed in on Cotric's error, although the Raiders threatened to close the gap until the dying seconds.

Canberra now travels to Cronulla to take on the Sharks on Easter Sunday.

AT A GLANCE

NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS 18 (Addin Fonua-Blake, Luke Metcalf, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck tries; Metcalf 3 goals) bt CANBERRA RAIDERS 10 (Matt Timoko, Nick Cotric tries; Jamal Fogarty goal) at Christchurch. Referee: Liam Kennedy.