Canberra Raiders 16–10 South Sydney Rabbitohs — Preliminary Final, 2019 NRL Finals Series
27 Sep 2019 · GIO Stadium, Canberra, ACT · Attendance: 26,567
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Preliminary Final, 2019 NRL finals series: Canberra Raiders 16–10 South Sydney Rabbitohs, at GIO Stadium, Canberra, ACT on 27 Sep 2019.
Sourcing caveat: Exact clock-minutes for individual conversion/penalty-goal kicks were not specified in any source found; only overall kicking figures are documented.
Scoring timeline
| 14′ | Canberra Raiders — try, Croker |
| 27′ | South Sydney Rabbitohs — try, Gagai |
| 44′ | Canberra Raiders — try, Wighton |
| 73′ | Canberra Raiders — try, Papalii |
| 79′ | South Sydney Rabbitohs — try, Graham |
Tries with a sourced minute, in order scored, with the conversion kicked/missed alongside each one where source data lets us match a kicker to that specific try. Tries whose exact minute isn't recorded in available sources appear in the Scorers table below but not here; goal tallies we can't attribute to one specific try are shown as descriptive text in Scorers rather than guessed into this timeline.
Scorers
| Canberra Raiders | Tries: Croker 14'; Wighton 44'; Papalii 73' Goals: Croker (2/4 conversions) |
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | Tries: Gagai 27'; Graham 79' Goals: Reynolds (1/2 conversions) |
Team sheets
| Canberra Raiders | South Sydney Rabbitohs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | Fullback | Adam Doueihi | 1 |
| 2 | Nick Cotric | Wing | Alex Johnston | 2 |
| 3 | Jarrod Croker (c) | Centre | Campbell Graham | 5 |
| 4 | Joey Leilua | Centre | Dane Gagai | 4 |
| 5 | Jordan Rapana | Wing | Corey Allan | 19 |
| 6 | Jack Wighton | Five-Eighth | Cody Walker | 6 |
| 7 | Aidan Sezer | Halfback | Adam Reynolds | 7 |
| 8 | Josh Papalii | Prop | Sam Burgess | 12 |
| 9 | Josh Hodgson | Hooker | Damien Cook | 9 |
| 10 | Iosia Soliola | Prop | Liam Knight | 10 |
| 11 | John Bateman | Second-Row | John Sutton (c) | 11 |
| 12 | Elliott Whitehead | Second-Row | Ethan Lowe | 16 |
| 13 | Joseph Tapine | Lock | Cameron Murray | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Bailey Simonsson | Thomas Burgess | 8 | |
| 15 | Emre Guler | Tevita Tatola | 15 | |
| 16 | Corey Horsburgh | Mark Nicholls | 17 | |
| 17 | Dunamis Lui | Dean Britt | 20 | |
| Ricky Stuart | Coach | Wayne Bennett | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Ben Cummins and Grant Atkins (two-referee system) |
| Player of the match | Josh Papalii |
Match report
Canberra Raiders defeated the South Sydney Rabbitohs 16-10 in the 2019 Preliminary Final at GIO Stadium, Canberra, before a record home-ground crowd of 26,567, to book their first grand final appearance in 25 years. South Sydney dominated early possession and territory but could not convert pressure into points, allowing Jarrod Croker to open the scoring after Corey Allan lost the ball in-goal. Dane Gagai levelled for the Rabbitohs before half-time, and the sides went to the break locked together. Jack Wighton put Canberra ahead again early in the second half, and with just over ten minutes remaining Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad was sin-binned for a professional foul, forcing the Raiders to defend with twelve men. Canberra held on, and prop Josh Papalii sealed the win with a try under the posts, earning player-of-the-match honours. Campbell Graham scored a late consolation try for South Sydney in the dying seconds. The loss also marked the end of South Sydney captain John Sutton's 18-year first-grade career.