Raiders demolish Titans after tough week

AAP | 26/07/08 | 0

AUDIO - Neil Henry: 'Todd Carney will not play again this year'

AUDIO - On the sideline with Raiders skipper Alan Tongue

Canberra put its most difficult week of the NRL season behind it tonight, demolishing a Gold Coast side stripped of any attacking power.
 
The Raiders won 46-4 to move into the top eight.
   
Led by inspirational five-eighth Terry Campese, the green machine never looked back after the 17th minute when fullback David Milne was on the end of some Campese brilliance to level the score at 4-4.
   
From there, Canberra split the Titans apart with both wingers Colin Best (two) and Justin Carney scoring tries in the eight-tries-to-one romp.
   
All week the media had focused on the Raiders for all the wrong reasons after star half Todd Carney was stood down following a drink session with teammate Bronx Goodwin that landed both men in trouble.
   
Carney was later cleared but Goodwin will face two counts of assault.
   
Neither played tonight but the Raiders didn't need them.
   
Local junior Marc Herbert replaced Todd Carney and looked at home from the kick off.
   
He scored a try in the 25th minute off a neat Campese chip kick was tapped back to him by Origin centre Joel Monaghan.
   
For the Titans, it was a miserable night compounded by the whistle of Tony De Las Haras, who handed out 10 penalties to the home side.
   
Without the attacking flair of Scott Prince and Mat Rogers, the Titans were impotent.
   
Half Brad Davis threatened early with his left boot but rarely got the chance to kick close to the Raiders line.
   
Titans prop Michael Henderson was put on report late for a tackle on Monaghan.
 
CANBERRA RAIDERS 46 (C Best 2 D Milne A Purtell M Herbert J Picker J Carney B Jones tries T Campese 7 goals) bt GOLD COAST TITANS 4 (A Laffranchi try) at Canberra Stadium. Referee: T De Las Heras. Crowd: 8,700.

We had a pretty slow start which was disappointing... Alan Tongue, Raiders skipper