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Zahara Temara’s big-game experience has driven Canberra to their first NRLW finals win, helping break the heart of Wests Tigers with a low-scoring 6-0 shut out at Campbelltown Stadium.
With both sides playing their maiden finals match after four years in the competition, it was Temara who shone brightest on Friday night.
The former Queensland State of Origin star laid on a bullet cut-out pass for Isabella Waterman for Canberra’s first-half try.
With the Raiders holding a slender four-point lead for much of the second half, the Canberra No.7 then broke the line wide open and drew a penalty to go 6-0 up.
Beyond that, the Canberra halfback’s management of the game proved the difference, forcing two dropouts and kicking the Tigers into submission.
Temara won a premiership with the Sydney Roosters in the 2021 season and could now come up against her old club next Saturday in a grand-final qualifier.
The Raiders will play the Tricolours if the all-star Brisbane roster beats Newcastle this weekend, otherwise they will face Gold Coast if the Knights win through.
Canberra controlled the majority of Friday night’s game, with prop Chloe Saunders laying an immense platform with 173 metres and 73 of them post contact.
In truth the Tigers did well to hold on as well as they did, forced to make 85 more tackles with the Raiders camped on their line for the majority of the first half.
But they were unable to land a blow at any point in the second half, with a 10-5 penalty count against them stifling the chance for many opportunities.
And when Tigers fullback Caitlin Turnbull put on a last-minute kick and chase to try and pull off a miracle, it was again Temara who was there to clean it up.
The defeat ends what has been a fairytale season for the Tigers, who won only five games combined in their first NRLW three seasons and collected the past two wooden spoons.
The joint venture had been in contention for a top-two spot before a brutal end to the season, as they reached the first top-flight men’s or women’s finals series in 15 years.
But their momentum was halted when they were flogged 58-0 by the Titans a fortnight ago, before last week’s 22-10 loss to Canberra.
The Raiders, meanwhile, have beaten the Broncos and pushed both Gold Coast and the Roosters, making them a genuine threat over the next fortnight.
AAP
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