The Raiders kept their season alive with a 28-22 comeback win against the Knights on Sunday night.
Canberra were trailing 22-8 at the break but clawed their way back into the contest to stay within striking distance of the top eight with two rounds remaining.
MATCH CENTRE: Canberra Raiders vs Newcastle Knights, live scores, teams
Newcastle wings Edrick Lee and Dominic Young crossed for first-half doubles, while the Raiders scored through Seb Kris and Jordan Rapana.
Knights skipper Jayden Brailey scored on the stroke of half-time to extend his side’s lead beyond 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 came out of dummy half for Kris, but then raced in himself and scored with inches to spare.
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Jamal Fogarty then scored a penalty in the 54th minute to level the scores.
Canberra prop Josh Papalii burst through some lazy defending before Joe Tapine found Jack Wighton to score the match-winner in the 72nd minute.
“Big Papa thunders down the field, links up with fellow front-rower Tapine, who throws a hand for Jack Wighton and Canberra score through three of their big names,” Andrew Voss told Fox League.
It marked Raiders coach Ricky Stuart’s first game since being suspended for comments made in a postgame press conference.
Here are three of the biggest points from the match.
THE RAIDERS REMAIN 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 end the regular season, but they are not yet in control of their own destiny.
The Green Machine are just one win behind the Roosters, Rabbitohs or Broncos on the ladder but have a poor points difference.
To play in the finals, Canberra probably needs to win and one of those three teams 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 difference.
Nick Cotric and Emre Guler of the Raiders. Getty Images Source: Getty Images
Canberra are 26 points behind the eighth-placed Broncos on differential, but 155 points clear of the Rabbitohs and trail the Roosters by 212 points.
Raiders manager Ricky Stuart said earlier this month his men had “a great draw” to end the season and hailed another big win on Sunday.
“It keeps the (finals) alive and that’s really important, winning this game keeps us alive for another week,” Stuart said.
“We are going to review and talk about this first half, but we all know what it was, we have to be better.
“I’m very happy (with the second-half response). It was two halves of football, you’ll hear it as a cliché, but it definitely was.”
THE BIG THREE OF CANBERRA
With the game on the line, Canberra’s top three 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 and then passed to Joe Tapine.
Tapine went yards from scoring before producing an overhead pass which saw Jack Wighton cross into the corner.
They are the three highest paid players on the Raiders and they showed exactly why with the explosive play in the 72nd minute.
“The way (those three players) reacted after the break was a sign of a mature team and a team that cares about the result,” Ricky Stuart said.
Tapine is in the best shape of his career and said he’s simply enjoying the rewards on the field for the work he’s been putting in.
“I just wish I had a little more gas in the tank to get there. I just ran off the back of Paps, we use each other in the field and Jack is always there too,” Tapine said.
“I’m a bit more professional (this season), I’ve also matured a bit. It’s a lot of things combined really, I can’t narrow it down to just one thing.
“But I’m happy with my performance and I just have to keep growing.”
REMEMBER OF CASA DELS CAVALLERS
Newcastle’s impressive season at home suffered another defeat.
The Knights have won just two of 11 games at McDonald Jones Stadium this season, beating only lowly sides Wests Tigers and Titans.
They faced heavy losses at home against the Sea Eagles, Eels, Stormtroopers, Broncos and Panthers and Roosters.
The six-point loss against the Raiders on Sunday was their smallest margin of loss at home this season.
“The experience of both teams probably showed in the second half,” Knights coach Adam O’Brien said.
“We were fighting to get the game back with 30 seconds left, so I’m pretty proud. I’m gutted, probably more so because of the season we’ve had.
“I would have loved to have seen them win today, but we will look back on this as a game we showed some backbone tonight.
“We had to overcome a lot in the last month, not only the staff. This is a dressing room that I can look them all in the eye and be proud of, they fought.”
They next face the Titans away from home and then host the Sharks in the final game of the season.
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