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.
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 in the 72nd minute.
It marked Raiders coach Ricky Stuart’s first game since being suspended for comments made in a postgame press conference.
MINUTE 72
Canberra prop Josh Papalii burst through some lazy defending before Joe Tapine found Jack Wighton to score in the 72nd minute.
“Big Papa thunders downfield, links up with fellow front-rower Tapine, who throws a hand for Jack Wighton and Canberra score through three of their big names,” said Andrew Voss.
49th MINUTE
The Canberra forward picked Sebastian Kris out of the half but then ran after himself and scored with inches to spare.
“Hudson Young does it himself, that’s special backrower stuff,” Greg Alexander said.
MINUTE 43
Canberra struck first in the second half when Jamal Fogarty put a bomb 40 meters out and Sebastian Kris got through to score.
“The Knights are over. Nobody was going for the ball, I was looking at the Knights statues there, nobody wanted to take possession,” Andrew Voss said.
“This is a great catch by Seb Kris,” said Greg Alexander.
40th MINUTE
The Raiders had just 20 seconds to defend when they let Mat Croker wander through an open hole 40 yards out.
The lock found Jayden Brailey inside and the Newcastle skipper finished against the posts.
“What a finish, 40 seconds to go when the scrum was full and Jayden Brailey scored Newcastle’s fifth try of the half,” said Greg Alexander.
MINUTE 37
Edrick Lee jumped over Jordan Rapana to score a stellar solo try, and both Newcastle wings now have two tries.
Lee still had a lot of work to do after collecting Anthony Milford’s bomb and needed all of his 196cm frame to reach and score.
“Well, he’s long all over the place and he stretches to score, look at Edrick’s face, he’s got another one,” Andrew Voss said.
MINUTE 33
The Raiders produced a well-worked fifth play to create an overlap for Jordan Rapana to finish in the corner.
Xavier Savage’s final pass to Rapana looked flat at best, but the try held to make it 12-8 against the match.
“Before they scored that try, they were completely outplayed by Newcastle,” said Greg Alexander.
Newcastle were the better team for 35 minutes. Five line breaks to one, they have completed 17/17, while the Raiders have only been able to overcome eight sets.
MINUTE 26
Newcastle centre-back Dane Gagai showed sensational footwork before slotting past Nick Cotric to put Dominic Young in for the second.
Great play there by Dane Gagai, owed one to Seb Kris and went outside, great footwork and enough speed to get down the right side,” said Greg Alexander.
“A bit of a stop and too good. Easy one for Dom Young.”
19th MINUTE
The Knights go back in front thanks to a poor defensive read by Nick Cotric which allows Dominic Young to score untouched in the corner.
“Canberra came up horribly short that side, Nick Cotric was on a long drive to make a play for Dane Gagai, which left a lot of space for Dominic Young,” Greg Alexander told Fox League.
11TH MINUTE
Raiders center Sebastian Kris showed strength to finish from 10 meters after receiving a good pass from Jack Wighton.
“Kris makes a move on Gagai, he’s stood up and left a home state center,” Andrew Voss said.
6th MINUTE
Newcastle winger Edrick Lee opened the scoring with his 12th try of the season, equaling his season high.
The Cavaliers moved the ball from one side of the field to the other and created an overlap for Lee to score untouched.
“Everyone has played their part in this effort,” Andrew Voss said.
“He’s the king of McDonald Jones Stadium when it comes to tryouts.”
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PREDICTION OF THE MATCH
The Raiders’ desperate charge into the football final will continue against the Knights, who have been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Ricky Stuart’s men must win their remaining three games if they are to have any chance of making the final.
Canberra coach Ricky Stuart is back after serving a one-match ban for post-match comments following his side’s loss to the Panthers.
Meanwhile, the Knights will be hoping to deliver in front of their home fans at McDonald Jones Stadium.
The club’s culture has come under fire after footage of Kalyn Ponga and Kurt Mann being escorted out of a toilet by security.
While neither will feature in Sunday’s contest, the club have come under fire as has manager Adam O’Brien.
Newcastle welcome back experienced enforcer David Klemmer, pushing Jacob Saifiti, while 19-year-old Krystian Mapapalangi made his debut in the centres.
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