The Raiders have kept their season alive with a gutsy 28-22 comeback win against the Knights on Sunday night.v
Canberra were down 22-8 at halftime but came storming back into the contest to stay within touching distance of the top eight with two rounds remaining.
Newcastle wingers Edrick Lee and Dominic Young both crossed for doubles in the first half, while the Raiders scored through Seb Kris and Jordan Rapana.
Knights skipper Jayden Brailey scored on the stroke of halftime to push his side’s lead past two converted tries.
But the Green Machine came flying out of the blocks in the second half and Kris secured his double before Hudson Young showed some individual brilliance.
Young grubbered out of dummy-half for Kris but then raced after it himself and scored with centimetres to spare.
Jamal Fogarty then slotted a penalty in the 54th minute to level the scores.
Canberra prop Josh Papalii burst through some lazy defence before Joe Tapine found Jack Wighton to score the match-winner in the 72nd minute.
“Big Papa thunders up field, links up with his front-row partner Tapine who throws a one-hander for Jack Wighton and Canberra scores through three of their big names,” Andrew Voss said on Fox League.
It marked Raiders coach Ricky Stuart’s first game back since he was suspended for comments made in a post-match press conference.
Here are three of the biggest talking points out of the match.
RAIDERS STAY IN THE HUNT
They may have done it the hard way but Canberra kept their season alive with a fifth win in six games.
The Raiders face struggling sides the Sea Eagles and Wests Tigers to finish the regular season, but they don’t quite control their own destiny.
The Green Machine are just one win behind the Roosters, Rabbitohs or Broncos on the ladder - but they have a poor points differential.
To play finals, Canberra likely needs to win out and have one of those three sides lose their remaining games.
The Roosters face the high-flying Storm next week, while the Rabbitohs host the second-placed Cowboys. The Roosters and Rabbitohs meet in the final round.
The Broncos face the Eels and Dragons and are the only side the Raiders could realistically catch on points differential.
Canberra are 26 points off the eighth-placed Broncos on differential, but 155 points behind the Rabbitohs and trail the Roosters by 212 points.
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said earlier this month his men had “a great draw” to finish the season and praised another important win on Sunday.
“It keeps (finals) alive and that’s really important, winning that game keeps us alive for another week,” Stuart said.
“We’ll review and talk about that first half but we all know what it was, we’ve just got to be better.
“I’m really happy (with the second half response). It was two halves of football, you’ll hear that as a cliche but it definitely was.”
CANBERRA’S BIG THREE DELIVER
With the game on the line, Canberra’s three best players combined to deliver the match-winning try.
The scores were locked at 22-22 when Josh Papalii made a break and burst over the halfway line then offload to Joe Tapine.
Tapine went within metres of scoring before producing an overhead pass that saw Jack Wighton cross in the corner.
They’re the Raiders three highest-paid players and they showed exactly why with the explosive play in the 72nd minute.
“The way (those three players) reacted after the halftime break was a sign of a mature team and a team that cares about a result,” Ricky Stuart said.
Tapine is in career-best form and said he’s simply enjoying the rewards on the field for the work he’s been doing off it.
“I just wish I had a bit more gas in the tank to get there. I just ran off the back of Paps, we use each other on the field and Jack is always there as well,” Tapine said.
“I’m a bit more professional (this season), matured a bit as well. It’s a lot of things combined really, I can’t put it down to one thing.
“But I’m happy with my performance and I just have to keep growing.”
KNIGHTS’ DISMAL HOME RECORD
Newcastle’s shocking season at home endured another loss.
The Knights have won just two of 11 games at McDonald Jones Stadium this season, only beating bottom-placed sides the Wests Tigers and Titans.
They copped heavy losses at home to the Sea Eagles, Eels, Storm, Broncos and Panthers and Roosters.
The six-point defeat against the Raiders on Sunday was their smallest losing margin at home this season.
“The experience of the two teams probably showed in the second half,” Knights coach Adam O’Brien said.
“We were fighting to rescue the game back with 30 seconds to go so I’m pretty proud. I’m gutted, probably more for the season we’ve had.
“I’d have loved to have seen them win today but we’ll look back on this as a game that we showed a little of backbone tonight.
“We had to overcome a lot in the last month, not just the personnel. That’s a dressing room I can look them all in the eye and be proud of, they fought.”
They next face the Titans away and then host the Sharks in the final game of the season.
