Taking on a undefeated Brisbane Broncos outfit, the Toyota Forklift Raiders embarked on an ambush at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane winning 20-14.
Displaying heart and grit, the Raiders were effective in their scoring opportunities, while holding off a fast-paced Broncos attack.
In a tight ending, the Raiders claimed their second win for the season, and their fourth win in their past five games against the Broncos, in a gutsy hard-earned win.
Right from the kick off, the Raiders poured on the pressure and made their intentions clear with quick line speed and deep kicking from Jamal Fogarty.
Getting field position early for the Green Machine left the Broncos rattled in the opening minutes, with Herbie Farnworth making a drop ball error.
This gifted Fogarty a crucial intercept gaining 20 metres and putting them on the front foot with the try line in sight.
Everything was going the Raiders way in the opening minutes as they came out firing with Jordan Rapana going over to score the opening try of the match, thanks to some strong running and a crucial offload from Sebastian Kris.
Some immense bombs from Fogarty challenged the Broncos backline, with Selwyn Cobbo and Reece Walsh up for the task for the majority of the first half.
A slippery surface left the ball quite greasy, leading to some ill-discipline from both sides.
As a consequence, completion rates from both teams were low but the Raiders were the team that capitalised the most with the ball they had.
A quick set play from the scrum gave Cobbo the chance to get his hands on the ball early, in which he found a way to the line with millimetres to spare.
A missed conversion from Adam Reynolds left the scores at 6-4 to the Raiders after 16 minutes played.
A big collision between Pasami Saulo and Payne Haas forced Saulo off the field periodically for Corey Harawira-Naera, after seemingly clutching at his shoulder.
Some heavy contact between Kris and Thomas Flegler left the Bronco leaving the field, which he was later diagnosed with a category 1 HIA meaning he did not return for the rest of the game.
Offloads aplenty and smart kicking into the corners allowed crucial field position for the Raiders as they held the Broncos off any dangerous attacking chances.
With both sides tussling hard to gain field position, it was some dangerous running from Timoko to draw in two defenders and make a quick play the ball with ten metres out from the try line.
Rapana pounced on the opportunity picking up the ball swiftly and stepping his way to the line to score his second for the night.
An error from the kick off by Brad Schneider gave the Broncos a prime opportunity with the final minutes of the half approaching, but some strong defence from the Green Machine kept them at bay.
Corey Horsburgh was one of many to lead the team across the park with a great recovery tackle on Reynolds to take him over the sideline in the final five minutes of the first half.
Impatience from the Broncos gave away a costly penalty to gift a chance for Croker to kick a penalty goal from right in front.
And that he did, increasing their lead by 10 points as they ended the first half 14-4.
As both sides ran out to start the second half, it was the Broncos who wanted to make a statement first.
A kick from Reynolds left the Raiders backline with some hesitance as Albert Hopoate and Kris collided to gift a try to Jordan Riki.
Kris shortly made amends making a line-break on a kick return gifting a chance to the Raiders for the first time in the second half.
Horsburgh maintained his impeccable work rate into the second half as he steamed through on Reynolds who kicked the ball out on the full.
An eyes-up play from Zac Woolford assisted Fogarty with a line-break that broke open the Broncos as they were desperately back pedalling to get back on their try line.
A quick play the ball from Elliott Whitehead and a perfectly placed kick from Fogarty to Hopoate on the wing as he climbed above Cobbo to catch and score in the corner.
A successful conversion by Croker from the sideline once again extended their lead to 10 points, 20-10.
Raiders were fortunate once again as a line-break from Schneider placed additional goal line pressure on the Broncos.
With 20 minutes remaining in the second half, the Raiders had their backs to the wall giving away three six again ruck infringements on their own try line.
However a misguided set play from the Broncos awarded the ball to the Raiders as Walsh threw the ball over the sideline.
Fatigue was creeping in for both teams with 15 minutes left to play, as desperation from Horsburgh and Fogarty kept the ball away from the Broncos as much as they could.
The goal line pressure from the Broncos assisted them in scoring for the second time in the half as Jesse Arthars scored in the corner to put them within six points heading into the final seven minutes of the game.
A floating bomb from Reynolds that was taken by Rapana was met with an accidental trailing leg causing a severe blow to the head.
The game took a momentary pause while medical professionals tended to his laceration.
After a stellar game, his night was called short after been taken off in which the game resumed with three minutes remaining.
The Raiders were relentless in their line speed in the dying minutes to force an error from the Broncos to seal the victory, 20-14.
