Sonny Bill Williams reacts during the loss to the Raiders. Source: Getty Images
RAIDERS centre Jarrod Croker capped off his 100th game in the NRL with a match-winning try and conversion against the Roosters at Canberra Stadium, leading his side to a 24-22 victory.
Canberra fought back from a 16-0 halftime deficit to record the biggest NRL comeback in 2013.
The round five loss ended a three-game winning streak for the Roosters.
Raiders captain David Shillington was inspirational for the home team, making 144 metres in attack and forcing several turnovers with his confrontational defence.
The Raiders' handling skills began well below par once again, completing less than 50 per cent of their sets in the first half and leaving many of the 10,669 spectators less than impressed.
MATCH CENTRE: Raiders v Roosters
Jarrod Croker (headgear) celebrates after proving the match-winner for the Raiders.
Their errors allowed the Roosters to race away to a 16-0 half-time lead through tries to James Maloney, Michael Oldfield and Mitchell Aubusson.
The Roosters were just 35 minutes away from becoming the second team in rugby league history to win three consecutive games without conceding a point, when Croker sparked the comeback by throwing a flick pass to unmarked winger Edrick Lee.
Then the Raiders grew another leg and earned back-to-back sets before halfback Sam Williams threw a dummy and wriggled his way over the line for the Raiders second try and a 16-12 deficit.
It took some magic from Roosters second-rower Sonny Bill Williams to stem the flow, splitting the Raiders defence before throwing a no-look pass to Anthony Minichiello who scooped the ball off his toes and dived over for the 55th minute try as the Roosters extended their lead to 22-12.
But the Raiders hit back again with just 15 minutes on the clock, Sandor Earl leaping above two Rooster defenders to snatch a Sam Williams crossfield kick to bring it back to a four-point ball game.
Sustained pressure from the Raiders then saw Lee return the favour to Croker with a great no-look pass, giving the Raiders a memorable win.
CANBERRA 24 (J Croker S Earl E Lee S Williams tries J Croker 4 goals) bt SYDNEY ROOSTERS 22 (M Aubusson J Maloney A Minichiello M Oldfield tries J Maloney 3 goals) at Canberra Stadium. Referee: Matt Cecchin, Luke Phillips. Crowd: 10,969.
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