Former Titans skipper Ryan James has scored his first try in almost 700 days upon an emotional debut for the Canberra Raiders.<\/p>\n
The four-pointer was the icing on the cake for James' off-season move from the Gold Coast, as he helped power the Green Machine to a 30-12 win over the Wests Tigers.<\/p>\n
It was an under-the-radar signing by Canberra, whose forward stocks are arguably the deepest in the league – but the former Titan made the most of his club debut, crossing early in the second half to give his side a 12-6 lead.<\/p>\n
It was an emotional milestone for the forward nearly 700 days in the making.<\/p>\n
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James' last game in the NRL was in April 2019 after he sustained a serious knee injury, before another freak pre-season accident saw him miss the entirety of the 2020 season.<\/p>\n
James had played 144 games for the Titans, becoming the club's longest-serving player and rising to the captaincy before suffering his unfortunate string of injury.<\/p>\n
However, Sunday's big achievement had the NRL world grinning ear-to-ear and hopeful for a new era ahead for the forward.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/twitter.com\/markMGgeyer\/status\/1370980977078538241<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/peterp79\/status\/1370980152457371648<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/copes9\/status\/1370980554254868480<\/a><\/p>\n "That's a reward for persistence and belief," rugby league great Peter Sterling said in commentary for Nine.<\/p>\n "He must have gone through some dark times to get back into first grade and score that.<\/p>\n "He's always been a try-scorer and he just powers his way across."<\/p>\n Meanwhile, it will be back to the drawing board for the Wests Tigers who failed to replicate some of their scintillating pre-season form, with many of their biggest names failing to fire at GIO Stadium.<\/p>\n![\"Liddle\u00a0draws\u00a0first\u00a0blood\u00a0in\u00a0Canberra\"](\"https:\/\/vms-network-images-prod.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/2021\/03\/348222\/pickerImage.jpg\")
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