Raiders star in doubt for Origin II

CANBERRA star Nick Cotric could be in doubt for State of Origin II after injuring his left foot in the Raiders’ thrilling 22-20 victory over Cronulla.

Cotric limped off the field in the 68th minute last night after being caught in an awkward tackle by Sharks forward Wade Graham.

The NSW winger is hoping to retain his spot for Game 2 in Perth next week, with teams named on Sunday.

His injury put a dampener on a gritty win at GIO Stadium, where they held off a fierce comeback from the Sharks to extend their winning streak to three.

With the temperatures dropping to 6C in the nation’s capital, the Raiders started red-hot by storming to a 20-0 lead with three tries by the 24th minute.

But the Sharks responded with four straight of their own to level the game, with only the wayward goalkicking of the returning Shaun Johnson the difference.

However Raiders captain Jarrod Croker stepped up to nail a 35m penalty goal for the lead, before producing a late intercept to seal a tense victory. It was a record-breaking night for the veteran centre, whose first-half try equalled Raiders great Jason Croker as the club’s all-time leading tryscorer (120 tries).

It came on the same night the Canberra captain also equalled Laurie Daley as the club’s second-most capped player with 244 games. Croker has played the most with 318.

Croker’s personal 14-point haul also moved the Raiders’ all-time leading pointscorer to the top of this year’s pointscoring table with 124.