The Warriors and the Canberra Raiders have met 55 times in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership since 1995, and the ledger is tight: Canberra lead 29 wins to 26. More than almost any other factor, where the match is played shapes the result — the Warriors have won 14 of 23 at Go Media Stadium in Auckland, while the Raiders have won 15 of 22 at home in Canberra.
The single 2026 meeting broke sharply with recent history, the Warriors winning 40–6 in Auckland in Round 2. This page sets out the head-to-head in numbers, what happened in the most recent games, and the patterns worth understanding before these two sides meet again.
Key Facts
| 55 | NRL premiership meetings between the clubs, 1995–2026 |
| 29–26 | Canberra Raiders lead the all-time head-to-head |
| 14–9 | Warriors’ record against Canberra at Go Media Stadium, Auckland |
| 15–7 | Raiders’ record against the Warriors at home in Canberra |
| 40–6 | Warriors’ win in Round 2 of the 2026 season |
Warriors vs Raiders head-to-head record
| Split | Matches | Warriors wins | Raiders wins | Points (Warriors–Raiders) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All NRL premiership games | 55 | 26 | 29 | 1,163–1,235 |
| At Go Media Stadium, Auckland | 23 | 14 | 9 | 509–449 |
| At GIO Stadium, Canberra | 22 | 7 | 15 | 470–584 |
Home advantage is the clearest pattern in the whole series. The Warriors have strung together seven straight home wins over Canberra at one point, while the Raiders once won eight in a row at home against them. For a club that travels further for away games than anyone else in the competition — every road trip means crossing the Tasman Sea — those venue splits are a reminder that ground and travel are effectively priced into every Warriors market. The overall points tally is close too, 1,163 to the Warriors and 1,235 to the Raiders across the 55 games.
Key Points
- The teams have met 55 times in the NRL premiership since 1995, and Canberra lead 29 wins to 26.
- Venue is the dominant factor: the Warriors are 14–9 at Go Media Stadium, the Raiders 15–7 at home in Canberra.
- The Warriors won the only 2026 meeting 40–6, snapping a three-match Canberra winning streak.
- The Warriors finished 2026 second on the ladder; Canberra came 11th and missed the finals.
- Historic margins range from Canberra’s 56–12 (2000) to the Warriors’ 54–12 (2014), so old results say little about the next game.
Round 2, 2026: Warriors 40, Raiders 6
The Warriors opened their 2026 campaign with two heavy home wins, and the second was the most lopsided result this fixture had produced in years. They beat Canberra 40–6 at Go Media Stadium on Friday 13 March, running in seven tries to one. Kaeo Weekes opened the scoring for the Raiders inside the first five minutes and it was 6–6 at the break, but the Warriors pulled away after halftime. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Leka Halasima both scored twice, and halfback Tanah Boyd finished with 14 points from the kicking tee.
The 34-point margin matched the Warriors’ third-biggest winning margin over the Raiders, level with their 50–16 win in 2013. It also snapped a three-match Canberra winning streak in the fixture (more on that below) and set the tone for two seasons heading in opposite directions.
The Warriors went on to finish the regular season second on 18 wins, one of the form sides of 2026; Canberra slid to 11th on 28 competition points and missed the finals. You can see where every club ended up on our NRL ladder 2026 page, every Warriors score from the year on the NRL results 2026 page, and the season’s full schedule, byes and finals dates on the NRL draw page.
The three Canberra wins before 2026
Context matters for the 40–6 scoreline, because the Raiders had actually owned this fixture in the seasons immediately before it. Canberra won the previous three meetings:
- Round 20, 2024 — Raiders 20, Warriors 18 at GIO Stadium, a tight home win in Canberra.
- Round 1, 2025 — Raiders 30, Warriors 8 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the NRL’s season-opening showcase in the United States.
- Round 12, 2025 — Raiders 16, Warriors 10 in Auckland, where Canberra ended a Warriors winning run.
That sequence is exactly why head-to-head streaks are worth treating carefully: a run of three straight Raiders wins was wiped out by a single 34-point Warriors performance the very next time the clubs played.
Memorable matches in the rivalry
- Biggest winning margin: Canberra 56–12 in March 2000, when the Auckland Warriors (the club’s original name) were on the end of a 44-point defeat.
- Biggest Warriors win: 54–12 at home in May 2014, when halfback Shaun Johnson scored 26 points, matching the individual fixture record he had set the year before.
- Highest-scoring Warriors away win: 54–18 in Canberra in August 2014, a ten-tries-to-three rout in which Manu Vatuvei scored a second-half hat-trick and the Warriors broke a long drought at GIO Stadium.
- Closest finish: Canberra 30, Warriors 29 in July 2004, decided in extra time by two Clinton Schifcofske field goals.
Context like this stretches back three decades and dozens of different squads, so the oldest results say little about the next game — but they do show how wide the margins in this fixture can swing. If you like fixtures broken down this way, our Warriors vs Dolphins head-to-head does the same for another rival.
What tends to decide Warriors vs Raiders
Venue and travel
With a near-mirror record at each club’s home ground, the venue is the first thing to weigh. Canberra’s cold winter conditions and the Warriors’ heavy travel schedule have historically made the Raiders hard to beat at GIO Stadium, while Go Media Stadium has been a genuine fortress for the Warriors. Whoever is at home starts with a measurable edge.
Halves and goal-kicking
Several of the Warriors’ biggest wins came off a dominant performance from the halves — Johnson’s back-to-back 26-point games in 2013 and 2014 are the clearest examples — while goal-kicking and field goals have settled the tight ones, as Schifcofske’s two one-pointers did in 2004. In a fixture that regularly ends in single-figure margins, the reliability of the kickers matters.
Team lists and the spine
Changes to the spine — the fullback, halves and hooker — move this matchup more than most, because both clubs lean heavily on their playmakers. The confirmed 17 is published about an hour before kick-off; our NRL team lists guide explains the timing and why late changes matter. For a sense of how bookmakers frame these games, our guide to NRL markets covers the common bet types without any tips or predictions.
Using head-to-head data sensibly
A head-to-head record is useful background, but it blends decades of unrelated teams into one number. The 2000 result has nothing to do with next season’s game; recent form, venue splits and confirmed team news carry far more information. Treat the all-time ledger as colour rather than a forecast, and give more weight to the last handful of meetings and how each side is travelling right now. The tool below simply shows how a handicap (line) result would settle for a given score — it is an illustration of how the maths works, not a prediction.
Line result checker
Enter a Warriors v Raiders score and a line to see how a handicap bet on either team settles.
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Sources
- Rugby League Project — Canberra Raiders vs Warriors head-to-head (summary)
- Rugby League Project — Canberra Raiders vs Warriors head-to-head (records)
- 1News — Warriors show wow-factor against Canberra (Round 2, 2026)
- RNZ — Leka Halasima stars in big win over Canberra Raiders
- Canberra Raiders — Round 2, 2026 match preview (recent head-to-head)
- Yogonet — TAB NZ becomes New Zealand’s sole legal online betting operator
Frequently asked questions
Who has won more games, the Warriors or the Raiders?
Canberra lead the NRL premiership head-to-head 29 wins to 26 across 55 meetings from 1995 to 2026.
What was the score when the Warriors played the Raiders in 2026?
The Warriors won 40–6 at Go Media Stadium in Auckland on 13 March 2026, in Round 2. It was the Warriors’ seven-tries-to-one performance that snapped a three-match Canberra winning streak.
What is the Warriors’ record against the Raiders in Auckland?
The Warriors have won 14 of 23 matches against Canberra at Go Media Stadium, compared with the Raiders’ 15 wins from 22 games at home in Canberra.
What is the biggest win in Warriors vs Raiders history?
Canberra’s 56–12 win in 2000 is the largest margin in the fixture. The Warriors’ biggest win is their 54–12 result in May 2014.
Did the Raiders make the 2026 NRL finals?
No. Canberra finished the 2026 regular season 11th on 28 points, outside the top eight, while the Warriors finished second.
