Melbourne Storm 10–12 Canberra Raiders — Qualifying Final, 2019 NRL Finals Series
14 Sep 2019 · AAMI Park, Melbourne, VIC · Attendance: 20,136
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Qualifying Final, 2019 NRL finals series: Melbourne Storm 10–12 Canberra Raiders, at AAMI Park, Melbourne, VIC on 14 Sep 2019.
Sourcing caveat: Exact minute-by-minute data is incomplete; Vunivalu's try minute was not specified precisely in sources found. No official player-of-the-match award was found for this fixture.
Scoring timeline
| 3′ | Canberra Raiders — try, Simonsson |
| 76′ | Canberra Raiders — try, Bateman |
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
| Melbourne Storm | Tries: Vunivalu Goals: Smith (3/4 goals) |
| Canberra Raiders | Tries: Simonsson 3'; Bateman 76' Goals: Croker (2/4 conversions) |
Team sheets
| Melbourne Storm | Canberra Raiders | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Papenhuyzen | Fullback | Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | 1 |
| 2 | Suliasi Vunivalu | Wing | Nick Cotric | 2 |
| 3 | Will Chambers | Centre | Jarrod Croker (c) | 3 |
| 4 | Justin Olam | Centre | Bailey Simonsson | 4 |
| 5 | Josh Addo-Carr | Wing | Jordan Rapana | 5 |
| 6 | Cameron Munster | Five-Eighth | Jack Wighton | 6 |
| 7 | Jahrome Hughes | Halfback | Aidan Sezer | 7 |
| 8 | Jesse Bromwich | Prop | Dunamis Lui | 8 |
| 9 | Cameron Smith (c) | Hooker | Josh Hodgson | 9 |
| 10 | Nelson Asofa-Solomona | Prop | Iosia Soliola | 10 |
| 11 | Felise Kaufusi | Second-Row | John Bateman | 11 |
| 12 | Kenny Bromwich | Second-Row | Elliott Whitehead | 12 |
| 13 | Dale Finucane | Lock | Joseph Tapine | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Brandon Smith | Joey Leilua | 4 | |
| 15 | Tui Kamikamica | Josh Papalii | 8 | |
| 16 | Max King | Corey Horsburgh | 16 | |
| 17 | Joe Stimson | Emre Guler | 19 | |
| Craig Bellamy | Coach | Ricky Stuart | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Ashley Klein and Chris Sutton (two-referee system) |
Match report
In an upset that reshaped the 2019 finals picture, the fourth-seeded Canberra Raiders defeated minor premiers Melbourne Storm 12-10 in the Qualifying Final at AAMI Park. Replacement back Bailey Simonsson opened the scoring in the third minute, and Melbourne trailed at the break before an eight-point Storm burst early in the second half, capped by a Suliasi Vunivalu try, put Melbourne in front. Canberra hit back through John Bateman, who scored with four minutes remaining after gathering a ball that deflected off Josh Addo-Carr, sealing a 12-10 win in a match riddled with penalties. The Raiders' preparation was disrupted when centre Joey Leilua was withdrawn just before kickoff after an errant fireworks shell struck him in the eye during the pre-match display. The result sent Canberra directly to the Preliminary Final, while Melbourne dropped into the Semi-Final week.