NRL: Brisbane Broncos topple Canberra as Raiders farewell Jarrod Croker, Jack Wighton

It was almost the perfect Bruce send-off for retiring centre Croker, and Redfern-bound Wighton in front of 19,400 fans.

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Locked at 16-16 after the first 40 minutes the Raiders got a sniff of an upset, but a second-half head knock to Josh Papali'i, a Jordan Rapana sin bin and a crucial call against Hudson Young allowed the Brisbane Broncos to race away to a 29-18 victory.

"To the club, all these years, they are some of the best memories of my life, and memories I'll cherish forever," Wighton said after the game.

"The year is not finished yet, so I won't speak too early, but much love to everybody."

"To all the fans that have supported us for 15 years, it's the end of an era and you can't put into the words what the club means to us," Croker added.

"I can't even grasp it all - it's very, very humbling."

Ricky Stuart threw a few selection curveballs in the lead-up to Saturday night, initially naming Wighton at fullback, with Croker starting on the bench for the first time in his career.

Come kick-off there was another reshuffle with Jordan Rapana at fullback, and Wighton lining up at left centre beside Sebastian Kris on the wing.

With both Wighton and Kris returning from hamstring complaints, they had their work cut out for them against the pacey right edge of the Broncos, and they were tested.

Winger Selwyn Cobbo opened the visitors' account when Kris was drawn in by Reece Walsh, but Kotoni Staggs' missed conversion limited the damage for Canberra.

The Raiders were eventually able to get back on the front foot with repeat sets cracking the Broncos' defence, and an offload from Raiders co-captain Elliott Whitehead allowed stand-in No.6 Matt Frawley to score.

The two teams went blow for blow as Staggs scored for Brisbane, then Nick Cotric responded to level. Ezra Mam used his strength to beat Corey Horsburgh, before Hudson Young was put in space to score by a Jamal Fogarty pass.

The Raiders went into the sheds at the half with every chance to beat the Broncos twice in a season, but a few major moments shifted momentum Brisbane's way.

Fogarty nailed a penalty goal to put Canberra in front, however the Broncos took full advantage when Papali'i was forced off after a concerning head clash with Emre Guler.

Cobbo crossed for his double and in the process Rapana was sin-binned for a trip attempt, leaving the Raiders down a man.

Brisbane soon extended its lead, Cobbo's hat-trick set up by a tremendous line break from Walsh.

The Broncos fullback then slotted a field goal and flaunted his speed to score the last try of the game and deny the Raiders the upset.

Post-game Stuart was annoyed at the Rapana sin bin for tripping and the 74th minute penalty decision against Hudson Young for brushing Cobbo while contesting a drop-out.

"I've got the NRL ringing up saying, 'Why isn't he here in this press conference?' The reason I'm not coming in this press conference earlier and keeping you poor people waiting is because I'm pissed off, because people aren't doing their jobs properly," Stuart said.

"Why do you reckon little old ladies are sitting on their chair going off their head? When little old ladies are going off their head, you've had a bad day," he added.

"I can't do nothing [about it]. I've just got to cop it."

Broncos coach Kevin Walters said the Raiders were "gritty" opposition and he also acknowledged the Rapana sin bin as a game-changer.

"We just scrapped along like they did," he said.

"It was getting pretty close. I guess the sin-binning was the big one for us that pushed us along, but it was a tough game.

"We like the game flowing but there didn't seem to be too much momentum all night. Part of that was our fault with errors and penalties, but that's the way the Raiders play, they're gritty and tough."

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