Match Report Courtesy of NRL.com
Canberra gave its all in a desperate bid to send six of the NRL club's favourite sons out winners, but minor premiers Melbourne proved too good.
The Raiders' farewell match to its stalwarts ended in defeat as Melbourne cemented its place as premiership favourite with a 22-18 win over Canberra in a nailbiting clash at Canberra Stadium.
The loss to Canberra means the Raiders have given up the chance of hosting a finals match and now leaves open the possibility of Canberra missing the finals series altogether, although the more likely scenario would be for a rematch between minor premiers the Storm and Raiders in the first round of the finals.
It was 80 minutes of high quality, passionate football as Canberra made every effort to send veterans Jason Croker, Simon Woolford, Clinton Schifcofske, Jason Smith, Adam Mogg and Michael Hodgson - as well as coach Matthew Elliott - out winners in their final match at their home ground.
The passion on the field was no more obvious than when Canberra forward Michael Weyman and Storm centre Matt King initiated an all-in brawl in the first half.
King threw a punch into Croker after the Raiders backrower tackled him as he jumped for a high ball.
Weyman ran 10 metres to join in the argument and within seconds it had escalated into a full blown melee.
Weyman and King were each sin binned for 10 minutes for their actions.
A determined Canberra outfit took just four minutes to put its first points on the board after fullback Schifcofske set up lock Alan Tongue to score under the posts and kicked the goal for a 6-0 lead.
But Canberra was unable to contain Melbourne centre Greg Inglis throughout the match and paid a heavy price when he made a break, palmed off three Raiders defenders and passed the ball to King to score.
Inglis crossed for a try of his own in the 33rd minute after intercepting a Jason Smith pass and running the length of the field to put his team ahead for the first time.
Melbourne second rower Ryan Hoffman then scored a crucial try before the break to give the minor premiers a 16-6 halftime lead.
A try to lock Dallas Johnson in the 63rd minute made it 22-6 to the visitors.
But Canberra ensured a tight finish when Lincoln Withers scored in the 68th minute.
Tongue crossed for his second try of the night in the 74th minute to make it 22-18, but Melbourne clung to its slim lead.
In more bad news for Canberra, five-eighth Jason Smith suffered a knee injury early in the second half and failed to return to the field.
Storm fullback Billy Slater was penalised for a high tackle on Jason Smith in the 43rd minute but was not placed on report.
Melbourne has been a voodoo team for Canberra, with the Storm unbeaten against the Raiders since 2001.
