Canberra Raiders 32–20 Cronulla-Sutherland — Elimination Final, 2020 NRL Finals Series
3 Oct 2020 · GIO Stadium, Canberra, ACT · Attendance: 9,602
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Elimination Final, 2020 NRL finals series: Canberra Raiders 32–20 Cronulla-Sutherland, at GIO Stadium, Canberra, ACT on 3 Oct 2020.
Sourcing caveat: Exact scoring minutes vary slightly between secondary sources. No official player-of-the-match award was found for this fixture.
Scoring timeline
| 9′ | Canberra Raiders — try, Tapine |
| 18′ | Cronulla-Sutherland — try, Mulitalo |
| 30′ | Cronulla-Sutherland — try, Brailey |
| 38′ | Canberra Raiders — try, Williams |
| 47′ | Canberra Raiders — try, Wighton |
| 52′ | Canberra Raiders — try, Wighton |
| 64′ | Canberra Raiders — try, Williams |
| 66′ | Canberra Raiders — try, Whitehead |
| 78′ | Cronulla-Sutherland — try, Katoa |
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: Tapine 9'; Williams 38'; Wighton 47'; Wighton 52'; Williams 64'; Whitehead 66' Goals: Croker (4/6 conversions) |
| Cronulla-Sutherland | Tries: Mulitalo 18'; Brailey 30'; Katoa 78' Goals: Townsend (4/5 goals) — penalty goals 5', 22', conversions on Brailey and Katoa tries |
Team sheets
| Canberra Raiders | Cronulla-Sutherland | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | Fullback | William Kennedy | 1 |
| 2 | Semi Valemei | Wing | Sione Katoa | 2 |
| 3 | Jarrod Croker | Centre | Josh Dugan | 3 |
| 4 | Jordan Rapana | Centre | Jesse Ramien | 4 |
| 5 | Nick Cotric | Wing | Ronaldo Mulitalo | 5 |
| 6 | Jack Wighton | Five-eighth | Connor Tracey | 6 |
| 7 | George Williams | Halfback | Chad Townsend | 7 |
| 8 | Josh Papalii | Prop | Braden Hamlin-Uele | 8 |
| 9 | Tom Starling | Hooker | Blayke Brailey | 9 |
| 10 | Dunamis Lui | Prop | Aaron Woods | 10 |
| 11 | John Bateman | Second Row | Briton Nikora | 11 |
| 12 | Elliott Whitehead | Second Row | Wade Graham | 12 |
| 13 | Joseph Tapine | Lock | Siosifa Talakai | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Siliva Havili | Scott Sorensen | 14 | |
| 15 | Iosia Soliola | Toby Rudolf | 15 | |
| 16 | Hudson Young | Andrew Fifita | 16 | |
| 17 | Corey Harawira-Naera | Jack Williams | 17 | |
| Ricky Stuart | Coach | John Morris | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Grant Atkins |
Match report
Cronulla entered this Finals Week One elimination final as fifth-placed underdogs against the fourth-placed Canberra Raiders, and for 40 minutes threatened a genuine boilover, taking a 14-10 lead into the sheds at GIO Stadium behind tries to Ronaldo Mulitalo and Blayke Brailey and goals from Chad Townsend. Canberra found rhythm after the break: a double from five-eighth Jack Wighton in the 47th and 52nd minutes, combined with a brace from halfback George Williams either side of that burst, swung the momentum decisively, with Joseph Tapine and Elliott Whitehead also crossing to complete a six-try haul. Jarrod Croker landed four of six conversion attempts to help seal a 32-20 scoreline, despite the Sharks' Sione Katoa scoring a late consolation intercept try. The result ended Cronulla's season and sent Ricky Stuart's Raiders through to Finals Week 2, continuing Canberra's run toward a second consecutive Grand Final appearance.