The Raiders scraped through in golden point to seal a gutsy win against the Cronulla Sharks on Sunday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd at Shark Park.
It was shot for shot in the last 10 minutes of play with both teams firing field goals desperate to take the lead in a nail-biting finish.
But two field goals from Aidan Sezer and two from Chad Townsend kept the score levelled and took the game into golden point.
Aidan Sezer finished the job with a third field goal in extra time to end a frantic game in stunning fashion for the Canberra Raiders.
It felt like the Raiders had no attacking opportunity with the ball in the first half of the game however at the conclusion of the game the possession was evenly split at 50%.
Match Highlights: Sharks v Raiders
It was the Raiders who finished with a better completion rate with 37/43 of their sets completed for a rate of 86%. While the home side completed 35/43 of their sets with a completion rate of 81%.
The penalty count was relatively even between the two sides with the Raiders giving away six penalties and making six errors. The home side made 10 errors and conceded five penalties.
With many field goal attempts in this game, it is important to mention the impact kicking accuracy had for both the Raiders and the Sharks.
Kyle Flanagan missed all three conversion attempts for the Sharks while Raiders captain Jarrod Croker kicked two from two. Chad Townsend successfully kicked two field goals for the Sharks, while Aidan Sezer kicked three from five attempts including the winning field goal in golden point.
The Green Machine fought hard to come back after going into the halftime break trailing by 12 points behind the Sharks. It was evident in their running metres, coming out on top running for a total of 2033 metres from 206 runs. With the home side finishing with a total of 1851 running metres from 196 runs.
In attack, Canberra continued their dominance in second phase play producing 14 offloads and three line breaks while the Sharks managed nine offloads and four linebreaks.
In defence, the tackle count was relatively even between the two teams. The Canberra boys made a total of 389 tackles compared to the Sharks 395. Missed tackles were also evenly split with the Raiders missing 36 tackles and the Sharks missing 35.
Individual statistics:
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad continues to dominate in the number one jersey for the Canberra Raiders. The fullback made the most metres with the ball at 246 while also recording the most runs on the field with 25. The performance also included a try and try assist while also making the most post contact metres at 77.
Bailey Simonsson put in a solid effort for the Green Machine recording 186 metres in 23 runs, closely followed by Corey Horsburgh who made 17 runs.
John Bateman continues to show his worth in both attack and defense notching 198 metres from 15 runs. Bateman also produced three offloads for his team to promote the ball and made 41 tackles.
It was Josh Hodgson who made the most tackles for the Canberra Raiders with 53, closely followed by Hudson Young who finished with 41, equal to John Bateman.
Sign up for a free NRL Account to access this video and other exclusive content.
Sign UpAlready have an NRL Account?
Not sure? Learn more about an NRL Account .
