Sydney Roosters halfback Todd Carney made a triumphant return to his old NRL stomping ground on Sunday, leading his side to a 22-12 win over Canberra at Canberra Stadium.

The Roosters scored four tries to the Raiders' two in a closely-fought contest that saw Carney - sacked by Canberra in 2008 for a series of off-field indiscretions - often at the centre of the action.

He intercepted a Raiders pass in the 12th minute and ran 80 metres to score the first try of the match, before his precise kick helped winger Sam Perrett find the line just two minutes later, giving Sydney a 10-0 lead.

Carney, who hadn't played in Canberra since his inglorious departure, was heckled by local fans throughout the game but managed to keep his cool.

"Once I get out on the field I don't hear those things," he told reporters after the match.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me, I think that's the old saying.

"Everyone knows that I've done the wrong thing, I left on bad terms but I'm just looking to get on with it."

Carney's impressive play was backed up by second-half tries from centre Shaun Kenny-Dowall and hooker Jake Friend.

Given the benefit-of-the-doubt by the video referee, it was Friend's effort which gave the Roosters an unassailable lead in the 67th minute and consolidated their top-eight spot.

Coach Brian Smith was full of praise for his men, who managed to snatch the two points despite the ball spending most of the time in the visitors' own half.

"We defended 122 plays in our half of the field, I can't ever remember seeing a stat like that," he said.

"Sixty-six of them were in our 20, it's just mind-blowing those numbers.

"The boys did a great job of sticking together and holding out, by the skin of our teeth sometimes."

Canberra made short-lived resurgence in the later stages of the first half.

Centre Joel Thompson and winger Joel Monaghan scored tries, converted by Jarrod Croker, to hand the green machine a 12-10 lead at the interval, but the hosts failed to trouble the scorers in the second half.

Coach David Furner said his side made poor decisions, as did the referees.

"I'm not happy on a couple of decisions, there was a knock-on down their line there where we would've had a another set of six," he said.

"They missed those and they're crucial in the games."

To add injury to insult, Canberra hooker Glen Buttriss hurt his ankle and could be out for weeks.

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