SYDNEY: Title contenders Canberra Raiders roared back from 14 points down at halftime to reel in Parramatta for their eighth straight win in Australia's National Rugby League on Sunday.
The Raiders secured a top-four spot on the standings with two rounds left in the regular season in their 28-18 victory over the Eels in the national capital.
Raiders skipper Jarrod Croker set up three of Brenko Lee's four tries on the way to victory.
Croker, the league's leading point-scorer, also added a try and kicked two goals to take him past Clinton Schifcofske's 2001 club record of 245 points in a season.
The win keeps Ricky Stuart's Raiders in third spot and five points ahead of fifth-placed North Queensland.
Rookie Suliasi Vunivalu maintained his try scoring strike rate with four tries in Melbourne Storm's 38-18 victory over Manly to stay on track to finish at the top of the regular season standings.
Vunivalu's batch of tries lifted his tally to 21 in just 16 games, equalling the rookie record set by former Storm star and eventual dual-code international Israel Folau back in 2007.
The win, the Storm's seventh in their past eight games, consolidates their spot on top of the competition table, three points ahead of Cronulla, who face South Sydney on Monday.
Brisbane dented Canterbury's top-four hopes with a 20-10 win over the Bulldogs at home.
The Broncos' third consecutive win lifted them to sixth with 30 points, just two points behind the Bulldogs.
Champions North Queensland brushed aside the New Zealand Warriors 34-6 to end their three-game losing run.
The Cowboys ran away with the match in the first half, opening up a 22-6 lead by the break and left them just two points behind the fourth-placed Bulldogs.
Penrith Panthers improved their chances of a top-eight finals place with a 40-10 win over Wests Tigers at home.
Gold Coast Titans had a comfortable 26-6 victory over bottom team Newcastle to fill out the top eight positions.
The Titans' code-hopping recruit Jarryd Hayne was helped off midway through the second half after a head knock.
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