NRL grand final 2019: Sydney Roosters v Canberra Raiders – live!









Half-time: Roosters 8-6 Raiders

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Conversion! (Croker, 32) Roosters 8-6 Raiders





TRY! (Wighton, 30) Roosters 8-4 Raiders

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Penalty! (Mitchell, 21) Roosters 8-0 Raiders





























Conversion! (Mitchell, 8) Roosters 6-0 Raiders





TRY! (Verills, 7) Roosters 4-0 Raiders

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Raiders XVII





Roosters XVII













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Preamble

Hello everybody and welcome to live set-by-set coverage of the 2019 NRL grand final between the Sydney Roosters and Canberra Raiders from ANZ Stadium. The action is scheduled to get underway sometime after 7.30pm.

We should be in for a closely fought contest tonight between two of the standout sides of 2019. They have both beaten the minor premiers Melbourne Storm this finals campaign, the Raiders doing so at AAMI Park three weeks ago to turbocharge their pursuit of the Provan-Summons Trophy. It’s 25 years since they were last on this grandest of stages so the Green Machine are arriving with nothing to lose, and plenty of sentimental support.

By contrast the Roosters are old hands at this NRL grand final lark. This is their eighth since the turn of the millennium and as defending champions they’re bidding to go back-to-back for the first time in a generation.

It’s second vs fourth from the regular season ladder with the Roosters holding the upper hand. They also won both the head-to-head match-ups this year but by margins of just six and four points. It’s clear who the favourites should be, but grand finals have a habit of upsetting the form book.

If you want to drop me a line before the action gets underway you can do so by email or via Twitter.

NRL grand final

Canberra Raiders fan Simon Tayoun prepares for the NRL Grand Final between the Canberra Raiders and the Sydney Roosters at ANZ Stadium. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

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source: theguardian.com