Canberra are inside the NRL's top eight for the first time in 2023 after seeing off Parramatta 26-18 in an NRL contest that has left two State of Origin candidates sweating the judiciary's charge sheet.
Earlier, South Sydney went top of the table courtesy of a 20-0 win over Wests Tigers and the Cowboys comfortably accounted for St George Illawarra 42-22 in Townsville.
In freezing conditions, the Raiders made it five straight wins in their best showing of the season, with three tries in the second half helping them hold off the Eels.
It leaves them 6-4 for the season and only two competition points from top spot, continuing a brilliant run to respond to a tough 1-4 start to the year.
The victory was their biggest margin of the season so far, snapping a streak of five wins by six points or less.
Tempers flared throughout in the nation's capital, Canberra enforcer Corey Horsburgh sin-binned for a punch despite Parramatta's Ryan Matterson receiving a penalty for starting the scuffle with a late tackle.
Horsburgh, a Queensland Origin hopeful, didn't make heavy contact with Matterson's jaw but could still find himself in hot water for throwing the strike.
Parramatta and NSW powerhouse Junior Paulo also flirted with a 10-minute spell, reported for a cannonball tackle that left star Raider prop Joe Tapine needing medical attention for a hyperextended knee.
But Paulo's lack of intent to tackle Tapine's knees might save him from a suspension.
The Eels were lucky to avoid their own first-half sin-binning, Bailey Simonsson allowed to stay on the field despite being reported and penalised for a hip-drop tackle on Jordan Rapana.
And they capitalised on Horsburgh's absence for the game's first try on 33 minutes, J'maine Hopgood grounding an impressive kick from Matterson.
Canberra answered in the shadows of half-time, a Jack Wighton pass finding winger Albert Hopoate in the corner to level the score before they took the lead straight after the break via NSW Origin hopeful Hudson Young.
A perfect kick from halfback Jamal Fogarty let Sebastian Kris through to put the Raiders 12 points clear, and they responded to back-to-back Parramatta tries through Matt Timoko, who sealed the deal on 76 minutes.
Tapine returned from injury to complete a 174m, four-tackle bust game, while Horsburgh pushed his Origin case with 127m and 30 tackles without a miss.
Without halfback Mitchell Moses, who is in concussion protocols, Jake Arthur steered the Parramatta ship nicely although the Raiders did well to curb the influence of key playmaker Dylan Brown.
Back-rower Shaun Lane limped off in the first half with a hamstring injury and didn't return.
North Queensland Cowboys add to St George Illawarra Dragons' pain
North Queensland have heaped more misery on St George Illawarra and coach Anthony Griffin, consigning the Dragons to a sixth straight defeat in a 42-22 NRL win in Townsville.
The visitors were blown away on Saturday in a 10-minute, first-half Cowboys blitz when they conceded three tries while having a player in the sin bin.
St George Illawarra had their second-half opportunities and found tries to Jaydn Su'a, Mikaele Ravalawa and Moses Suli but handling errors put an end to any chance of a comeback win in skipper Ben Hunt's milestone 300th game.
The Dragons' board is expected to meet on Tuesday as questions mount over Griffin's future as coach.
But where there is pressure on one side, the valve is slowly releasing on another.
North Queensland secured back-to-back wins for the first time this season with their home victory and did so with defensive tenacity and attacking vigour.
The Dragons' opened the scoring but they were clinically punished by the Cowboys when Jayden Sullivan spent 10 minutes in the sin bin midway through the first half.
With the scores level at 6-6 following tries to Jack De Belin and Kyle Feldt, a short kick-off was gathered by booming second-rower Heilum Luki to send Feldt on his way down field on a 60m dash.
Sullivan found himself caught up in the tackle and was penalised for a professional foul which led to his sin-binning.
From there the Cowboys fired on all cylinders.
The ensuing set saw fullback Scott Drinkwater evade three tacklers and hand Jack Gosiewski a try in back-to-back weeks before a break by Townsend gave a flat-footed Luki some space on the right edge and he beat three Dragons players from a standing start for the Cowboys' third try.
Drinkwater's sleight of hand made it three tries with a man advantage in the 27th minute, reversing inside to Valentine Holmes from a set-play in midfield with the centre lobbing inside to Tom Dearden to dive over untouched.
Holmes, Dearden, Drinkwater and Townsend all had stellar opening halves but the true threat was Luki who provided spark, power and speed to their right edge.
The imposing second-rower hit the sheds with 109-run metres, one line break and five tackle breaks to go with his first try of the season.
Holmes slotted a 45-metre two-point field goal on the stroke of halftime as North Queensland equalled their highest total points score this season in the opening 40 minutes.
Luki, Feldt and Dearden all crossed again in the second half as North Queensland ran away with the game.
Rabbitohs go top after holding toothless Wests Tigers to nil
South Sydney are back on top of the NRL ladder after grinding out a 20-0 win over Wests Tigers at Stadium Australia.
In a dour Saturday afternoon affair, Taane Milne bagged a double for Souths in a match that had one try in the opening 70 minutes before the Rabbitohs wrapped it up late.
Jason Demetriou's men have emerged as the league's best team over the past month, bumping them into second favourites for the premiership behind Penrith.
At their best, the Rabbitohs have one of the most dangerous attacks in the competition, with Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker both in red-hot form.
That ruthlessness was not as crisp on Saturday afternoon as both teams completed at high rates but lacked opportunities to pile on points.
Souths still looked the most dangerous when they swung the ball to their edges, but the sole first-half try came through Milne when he stepped Tigers fullback Jahream Bula.
The Rabbitohs extended their lead after the break through a penalty goal, before the in-form Campbell Graham put Milne over for his second with six minutes to play.
Mitchell also scored late, forcing his way over in the dying minutes.
It wasn't thrilling but the Rabbitohs did enough to win after losing prop Tom Burgess to back spasms in the warm up.
Souths have now won six straight games for the first time since late in their run to the 2021 grand final.
It also marks the first time since 2018 they have occupied top spot this late in the year after going above Brisbane on for-and-against.
The one concern for South Sydney was a concussion for second-rower Jed Cartwright, who was felled trying to make a tackle on John Bateman.
The Tigers continue to show signs of being a much improved team on the one that began the season with seven straight losses.
But after two wins against Penrith and St George Illawarra, they lacked anywhere near enough spark to threaten the Rabbitohs.
Their two most dangerous plays came when they produced a second kick on the last tackle, while Luke Brooks bust through late before a kick went to Damien Cook.
Alex Twal also went close to his first NRL try after 112 games with a first-half surge.
But like Twal's career try-scoring tally, the Tigers were destined to finish the afternoon on zero.
AAP
