After a dominant start left their opponents scoreless at the half, the Canberra Raiders held off the Newcastle Knights’ second half comeback, snatching a tight 22-18 victory away from home at McDonald Jones Stadium
The win sees the Raiders move to the top of the NRL ladder, after winning their 13th game of the season.
Newcastle was galvanised tonight as the Knights, a team on a run of recent good form, hosted the Canberra Raiders in a match with the potential to put them on the top of the ladder.
With slightly damp conditions on a Friday night in Newcastle, the game got off to a patient start as some strong set-for-set play from both the Raiders and the Knights tested each team’s defence.
A few key line breaks by the Raiders helped to put the Raiders on the front foot as Centre Matthew Timoko racked up 60 run metres through the centre of the ground to set up an attacking kick which was delivered by Raiders five eighth Ethan Strange.
The Raiders finally converted their momentum into points, as second rower Simi Sasagi leapt in the air to regather Strange’s high ball over the top of Newcastle fullback Kalyn Ponga and planted the ball to score. Fogarty missed the kick slightly to the right to give the Raiders a 4-point lead.
The 23rd minute saw Jamal Fogarty execute a pinpoint 40/20 kick, landing the ball inches from the sideline to put the Raiders’ 20 metres out from the line.
Off the back of Fogarty’s kick, Raiders’ second rower Zac Hosking made a play for the line and was wrapped up by the Knights, but an impressive last-ditch offload popped up by Hosking put fullback Kaeo Weekes into the endzone. Fogarty made this one and the Raiders were up by 10.
By the 28th minute, the green machine were well and truly rolling as another crafty offload, this time from Sasagi onto hooker Tom Starling, put Ethan Strange over in the left corner. Fogarty added the extras with a winding kick from the sideline; Raiders 16-0.
With three unanswered tries under their belt, the Raiders hit the sheds with plenty of positives to take from the first half, with Kaeo Weekes and Simi Sasagi to be commended for their efforts.
The second half was quickly ignited by a right edge bolt from Weekes, who ran thirty metres down the sideline off the back of an offload from Hosking but was taken out just 10 short of the tryline by a gallant Ponga.
The Raiders notched nine offloads in the first half compared to just one from the Knights.
But in the 49th minute, Newcastle finally found a way through the Raiders’ defence as quick service from Ponga swung the ball out to the left edge and was received by an unmarked James Schiller who ran across in the corner. Ponga turned four into six with his conversion and cut the lead to ten. Raiders led 16-6.
Off the kick-off, the following set saw the try-hungry Schiller race down the left edge again in a mad dash for the line before being cut down short of the line by a vigilant Weekes out of fullback.
The Knights momentum wouldn’t last long as Knight’s five-eighth Jackson Hastings lost his grip on a pass which was swiftly recovered by Ethan Strange who capitalised on a gap in the left edge and put Raiders’ winger Jed Stuart across for a try. Fogarty had no issues with the kick; Raiders 22-6.
Giving Newcastle hope, Knights second-rower Jermaine McEwen claimed his first try in the NRL 64 minutes in, barrelling across the line with a sneak play out of dummy half. Dane Gagai took the kick and put Newcastle 10 points behind.
With five minutes to go, Newcastle breathed life into the game, as Schiller crossed the line unmarked for a double thanks to a quick shift from Knights centre Bradman Best. Gagai slotted the kick to bring the margin to just four points, teeing the game up for a grandstand finish.
But ultimately the Knights fell short of a win, as Gagai lost the ball in the dying light of the game and couldn’t bring it back with a captain’s challenge.
Shutting down the Knights and locking in not just their sixth win in a row, but also the top spot on the ladder; the Canberra Raiders held onto the game and will look ahead to next Saturday’s clash with the Dragons.
