The Canberra Raiders secured a nail biting 26-25 win in golden point over the Dolphins at Kayo Stadium on Saturday night.
In a see-sawing battle, the Green Machine were able to claim the victory off the back of Jordan Rapana’s field goal.
Coming off a 44-16 defeat to the Roosters last week, the Raiders came onto the field determined to bounce back against fourth-placed Dolphins.
Dolphins hooker Jeremy Marshall-King was first to cross the line, with the away side taking an early 6-0 lead.
Xavier Savage was quick to respond, collecting a kick bomb from Kaeo Weekes and running to plant the ball behind the goal posts. A successful conversion from Rapana evened the score to six-all at 13 minutes.
Canberra built off this momentum and capitalised off of a Dolphins knock on when young gun Ata Mariota sliced through to score his second career try.
The Raiders defence remained strong until an offload from Dolphins centre Herbie Farnsworth allowed Jack Bostock to break through and plant the ball in the left edge, balancing out the score again to an even 12-all.
The contest remained back and forth, with both sides' defensive lines holding strong until Elliot Whitehead managed to spin and plant the ball on Canberra’s last tackle.
Rapana added the extras again, allowing the Raiders to go into the sheds with a six-point lead.
The Dolphins were quick to respond in the second half when centre Jake Averillo planted the ball after slippery knock ons from both teams.
The Green Machine were back in front when halfback Kaeo Weekes made the break off a sharp pass from Rapana.
Redcliffe answered through Kurt Donoghoe, who used his agility to plant the ball over the line, bringing the score to 24-all.
In a nail-biting final ten minutes, Dolphins' Isaako and Raiders' Rapana both secured one-point penalty field goals, bringing the game into golden point.
Multiple desperate attempts for golden point were made from both sides, until the Raiders won the game in the 87th minute off the back of Rapana’s field goal.
With the Raiders securing a hard-fought 26-25 victory, they can now look forward to enjoying a bye next round.
