Loss caps a miserable week for the Raiders after plenty of off-field distractions.
Hat-tricks to Shaun Johnson and Manu Vatuvei have put a pin through the Canberra Raider’s dreams of playing in the NRL finals, as New Zealand cruised to a 50-16 victory at Mount Smart Stadium.
Vatuvei helped put the Warriors in the lead by bagging all three of his tries in the first half as the home side led by just eight points.
Jarrod Croker also got in the action early by bagging a first half double as he helped keep his side in touch, down 20-12 at half-time.
But that would be as close as the Raiders would get to victory and the post-season as the Warriors reminded the competition what they are capable of when they play to their potential.
Johnson set the game alight in the 49th minutes as he scored the first of his tries for the afternoon with the third coming just six minutes later as the score ballooned to 38-12 in the blink of an eye.
From there is was only a matter of by how much rather than if New Zealand would win, with a late consolation try for Croker having little affect on how the Raiders finished their season.
Mid-way through the round and the big win puts New Zealand back in the hunt to play in the finals, as they currently sit in eighth, two points ahead of the Panthers, North Queensland and the Gold Coast.
However, the Warriors poor for-and-against of minus 50 could come back to hurt them with all three teams chasing them having better points difference.
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