SJ delivers as Warriors defy late Raiders comeback

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Warriors v Canberra Raiders

A Shaun Johnson field goal in the first set of golden point has delivered the Warriors a 21-20 victory over the Canberra Raiders at home. 

The game started frantically, seeing both sides have early chances. Canberra let their opportunity slip when Jarrod Croker pushed the pass which saw Albert Hopoate put it down. The Warriors put pressure on the Raiders which saw them concede a penalty whilst in possession with Jack Wighton ruled to be out of play as he failed to retreat beyond the point of the play the ball. 

Canberra were made to pay for their lack of detail in execution. Mitch Barnett went awfully close to scoring the play prior. However, it was clever thinking from Wayde Egan and isolated the Raiders defence which allowed Marata Niukore to crash over from short range in the fourth minute. Shaun Johnson converted for an early 6-0 lead. A period of stability soon followed until Marcelo Montoya brought the crowd to their feet when he broke down the left touch-line in the 13th minute. But the final pass went astray when Luke Metcalf couldn't handle it and left points off the board for the home side.

Wighton tried to capitalise on some rare, good field position, however his effort to reach out was judged to have been a knock on. Wighton was atoned for his mistake, after a poor pass from Johnson was put down by Niukore. This saw an urgent Hudson Young pick up the scraps to sprint away to score for the visitors. 
Canberra had further chances to add to their six points, but some desperate Warriors defence held on. Not content with the basics, Canberra tried a trick play and it backfired as badly as an uncertified bungee jump. Rocco Berry sprinted up field starting the set for the Wahs in good position before a penalty allowed Johnson to give the lead back for the home side with a penalty goal. 

The Raiders thought they had a certain try when Jamal Fogarty chipped ahead with no fullback at home, Seb Kris picked it up, only to be stopped from scoring by a determined effort from Dallin Watene-Zelezniak. That try saver from DWZ proved decisive. Off the seven tackle set, the Warriors marched down field and the Raiders had no answers for their dynamic set play. Johnson linked up brilliantly with Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad getting down low and going to the try line for a critical try on half-time to give the Warriors a 14-6 lead. 

The second half began in fiery fashion when Corey Horsburgh came in and escalated a situation he had no means of. Off the back of the penalty against Horsburgh, the Warriors took full advantage. Johnson went deep into the line, fooling the defence before quick hands from Berry found DWZ to cross in the right corner. A rare Johnson miss saw the score at 18-6.

Canberra arguably should've been down by more, however some determined defensive efforts saved the game getting away from them early. They did concede a penalty when a short dropout failed to break the plane and Johnson added the gift penalty goal to give the home side a lead beyond two converted tries. The Raiders had some chances down the other end, however the visitors attack left a lot to be desired with several chances going astray.

However, the repeat sets eventually made the Warriors crack. A clever cross-field kick from Jamal Fogarty landed in the arms of Jordan Rapana to allow the experienced winger to cross out in the right corner. Jarrod Croker's conversion just missed his conversion to leave the score at 20-10. Off the ensuing set, they did lose the ball on the second play. Canberra didn't see the ball in good ball territory until the final minutes of play. 

With just over a minute to go, a clever grubber kick from Rapana was hauled in by Elliott Whitehead to cross to give their side a chance as Croker's conversion meant they only needed a try in the last set of the game. A shift down the left saw Hopoate into open space before finding Wighton to score and level it. Croker's conversion was waved away and we were off to golden point. A costly kick from Fogarty gave the home side a seven tackle set. A strong set up field set the Warriors up for victory, and it was Johnson who kicked his side to victory.