Canberra Raiders 22–12 Penrith Panthers — Semi-Final, 2016 NRL Finals Series
17 Sep 2016 · GIO Stadium, Canberra, ACT · Attendance: 21,498
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Semi-Final, 2016 NRL finals series: Canberra Raiders 22–12 Penrith Panthers, at GIO Stadium, Canberra, ACT on 17 Sep 2016.
Sourcing caveat: No source consulted provided minute-by-minute try times or a named player-of-the-match award for this fixture — NRL finals matches in this era do not appear to have carried a sponsored award distinct from the Clive Churchill Medal (Grand Final only). Penrith's 4th interchange player is unidentified — Rugby League Project's own match page for this fixture lists only 3 bench names (Akauola, Latimore, Grevsmuhl) rather than the standard 4, and no other source checked names a 4th.
Scorers
| Canberra Raiders | Tries: Austin; Croker; Rapana Goals: Croker (3/3 conversions); Croker — 2 penalty goals |
| Penrith Panthers | Tries: Peachey; Watene-Zelezniak Goals: Cleary (2/2 conversions) |
Team sheets
| Canberra Raiders | Penrith Panthers | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Wighton | Fullback | Matt Moylan (c) | 1 |
| 2 | Edrick Lee | Wing | Josh Mansour | 2 |
| 3 | Jarrod Croker (c) | Centre | Zak Hardaker | 17 |
| 4 | Joey Leilua | Centre | Tyrone Peachey | 4 |
| 5 | Jordan Rapana | Wing | Dallin Watene-Zelezniak | 5 |
| 6 | Blake Austin | Five-Eighth | Bryce Cartwright | 6 |
| 7 | Aidan Sezer | Halfback | Nathan Cleary | 7 |
| 8 | Junior Paulo | Prop | Leilani Latu | 8 |
| 9 | Josh Hodgson | Hooker | Peter Wallace | 9 |
| 10 | Shannon Boyd | Prop | Suaia Matagi | 10 |
| 11 | Josh Papalii | Second-Row | Isaah Yeo | 11 |
| 12 | Elliott Whitehead | Second-Row | James Fisher-Harris | 12 |
| 13 | Iosia Soliola | Lock | Trent Merrin | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Kurt Baptiste | Sitaleki Akauola | 14 | |
| 15 | Luke Bateman | Jeremy Latimore | 15 | |
| 17 | Joseph Tapine | Chris Grevsmuhl | 16 | |
| 18 | Paul Vaughan | UNCONFIRMED | UNCONFIRMED | |
| Ricky Stuart | Coach | Anthony Griffin | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Ben Cummins and Gerard Sutton (two-referee system) |
Match report
Played on the night of 17 September 2016 at GIO Stadium in Canberra, this Finals Week 2 semi-final pitted the fourth-placed Canberra Raiders against the fifth-placed Penrith Panthers, with the loser eliminated from the finals series. Canberra dominated the first half, racing to a 12-0 lead at the break through tries to Blake Austin, Jarrod Croker and Jordan Rapana, with skipper Croker adding the extras. Penrith, led by teenage halfback Nathan Cleary in only his first finals campaign, fought back in the second half with tries to Tyrone Peachey and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak to close the margin, but Croker's boot — including two clutch penalty goals — proved decisive as the Raiders held on to win 22-12. The victory sent Canberra through to a preliminary final against the Melbourne Storm and marked the club's first appearance in the final four since 1997, while Rapana's try also drew him level with the Raiders' club record for tries in a single season.