Canberra Raiders 22–18 Sydney Roosters — Semi-Final, 2020 NRL Finals Series
9 Oct 2020 · Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW · Attendance: 18,110
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Semi-Final, 2020 NRL finals series: Canberra Raiders 22–18 Sydney Roosters, at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW on 9 Oct 2020.
Sourcing caveat: Exact minutes for individual conversions/penalty goals were not identified in sources found. No official player-of-the-match award was found for this fixture.
Scoring timeline
| 4′ | Canberra Raiders — try, Papalii |
| 18′ | Canberra Raiders — try, Williams |
| 22′ | Canberra Raiders — try, Tapine |
| 36′ | Sydney Roosters — try, Tedesco |
| 56′ | Sydney Roosters — try, Manu |
| 69′ | Canberra Raiders — try, Wighton |
| 75′ | Sydney Roosters — try, Tedesco |
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: Papalii 4'; Williams 18'; Tapine 22'; Wighton 69' Goals: Croker (3/4 conversions) |
| Sydney Roosters | Tries: Tedesco 36'; Manu 56'; Tedesco 75' Goals: Flanagan (3/3 conversions) |
Team sheets
| Canberra Raiders | Sydney Roosters | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | Fullback | James Tedesco | 1 |
| 2 | Nick Cotric | Wing | Daniel Tupou | 2 |
| 3 | Jarrod Croker | Centre | Josh Morris | 3 |
| 4 | Jordan Rapana | Centre | Joseph Manu | 4 |
| 5 | Semi Valemei | Wing | Brett Morris | 5 |
| 6 | Jack Wighton | Five-eighth | Luke Keary | 6 |
| 7 | George Williams | Halfback | Kyle Flanagan | 7 |
| 8 | Josh Papalii | Prop | Jared Waerea-Hargreaves | 8 |
| 9 | Siliva Havili | Hooker | Jake Friend | 9 |
| 10 | Hudson Young | Prop | Siosiua Taukeiaho | 10 |
| 11 | John Bateman | Second Row | Boyd Cordner | 11 |
| 12 | Elliott Whitehead | Second Row | Mitchell Aubusson | 12 |
| 13 | Joseph Tapine | Lock | Isaac Liu | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Tom Starling | Angus Crichton | 14 | |
| 15 | Iosia Soliola | Sitili Tupouniua | 15 | |
| 16 | Dunamis Lui | Sonny Bill Williams | 16 | |
| 17 | Corey Harawira-Naera | Nat Butcher | 17 | |
| Ricky Stuart | Coach | Trent Robinson | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Ashley Klein |
Match report
In a tense Finals Week 2 semi-final at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the Canberra Raiders ended the Sydney Roosters' bid for a third consecutive premiership with a 22-18 victory. Trailing 6-0 early, the Raiders struck through Josh Papalii, George Williams and Joseph Tapine to lead 18-6 by the 22nd minute, before James Tedesco (2) and Joey Manu hit back for the Roosters either side of half-time to level the contest. Jack Wighton's decisive try in the 69th minute — a moment of redemption after his sin-binning in the controversial 2019 Grand Final loss to the same opponent — proved the match-winner, backed by Jarrod Croker's reliable boot against Kyle Flanagan's perfect kicking for the Roosters. Fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad was outstanding for Canberra, while the match also marked the emotional farewell NRL appearance of Roosters veteran Mitch Aubusson. The Raiders advanced to the preliminary final, while coach Trent Robinson's Roosters' three-peat dream ended.