It took them a full 90 minutes but the Newcastle Knights have extended their winning streak to 10 in a row and booked themselves a trip to New Zealand as they pick up a 30-28 Extra time win over the Canberra Raiders.
The home side started the game strongly and had early dominance but they could only manage one the one four pointer and that came inside the first five minutes when the Knights found their groove on the left with Greg Marzhew going over in the corner.
Despite being dominated, the Raiders had an Ata Mariota effort denied by the bunker who couldn't overturn the live Held Up ruling from Ashley Klein. That didn't stop the Raiders though and it was an error from the Knights that gifted the Green Machine possession and they took advantage of their overlap with James Schiller going into score.
The Raiders added a second try when the Knights couldn't regather a short dropout and Trey Mooney forced his way to the line and got the ball down to score. The third Raiders try came again through James Schiller when yet another Newcastle error gifted Canberra field position and they took advantage out wide. Jamal Fogarty added a conversion from the sideline to push the Green Machine out to a 16-6 lead at half time.
Newcastle needed to find something in the second half and Jack Wighton gave them the fire when the Raiders star allegedly bit Tyson Gamble much to the furore of the Knights and the crowd. The referees took their time as Adam Gee in the bunker couldn't determine conclusively that there was a definite bite so the incident went on report as procedures state it should do.
The Knights were fired up as Kalyn Ponga left his mark on the game as he got the ball and ran straight to the line and got the ball down. With a fired up crowd behind them, the Knights set the game alight as they started to take advantage of the fragilities of the Raiders on the right as first it was Dom Young and then Dane Gagai who took advantage as they scored.
The Raiders had a rare attacking opportunity but they were left to watch the ball go back the other way as an attacking kick ended up with the Knights as Tyson Gamble swooped on the ball before finding Dom Young who was unstoppable racing away. Newcastle had opened up 28-16 lead but things weren't done.
As possession mounted in favour of the Raiders, Matt Frawley elected not to put the ball to boot but running the ball paid off as he was able to get the ball over the try line. Jamal Fogarty converted from close range to close the gap to six points. The Canberrans continued to attack with the ball as they eventually cracked the line inside the final two minutes when Tom Starling was able to go over. Fogarty converted to level the scores.
An 80th minute penalty put the Raiders into field goal range but they couldn't take advantage of the two shots and extra time awaited. The Green Machine started the first half of Extra Time with the better of the field position but elected not to go for a one-point advantage until the last few seconds of the half which was charged down.
The second half was all Newcastle as they were gifted field position after a Jamal Fogarty kick went out on the full as the Knights went on the attack as a result. The home side went on the attack late but it was a penalty against Hudson Young that decided the game when he was clearly offside and penalised for it. Ponga kicked the field goal to give the home side the match-winning 30-28 lead.
Next week, the Knights will look for 11 in a row when they head to New Zealand for a clash against the Warriors for a slot in the preliminary finals whilst the Raiders will again think of what could have been as their season ends.