Canberra capitalise as Knights stumble

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Canberra Raiders v Newcastle Knights

Steely resolve and a late field goal wrapped up a nerve-wracking 17-10 victory for Canberra over Newcastle at GIO Stadium in front of 10,585 fans.

Stand-in halfback Sam Williams finished up the hero, potting a 76th-minute field goal to ensure the home side got home in a game that funnily enough, they never looked like losing.

Having lost halfback Aidan Sezer pre-game, big questions opened up about how Canberra would fare against a Newcastle team - but they needn't worry.

After a tetchy opening twenty minutes, Canberra got across the line first through rookie fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad. The youngster clamoured over the line off a clever Josh Hodgson kick under the posts, and the Raiders were off the mark. Croker had no trouble converting for a 6-nil lead.

Five minutes later, Newcastle centre Jesse Ramien found space down the right edge and couldn't be stopped, and while Kalyn Ponga missed the conversion, the visitors were back in the game in a real way.

The Raiders' advantage would be extended before the break - Williams finding a handy hole in the defensive line and another conversion from Croker pushed the margin to eight at the break, and seemingly just reward for the home side's dominance.

After the break neither side troubled the scoreboard for a good 20 minutes before Nicoll-Klokstad bagged his second - pushing Canberra out to a 12-point lead.

Looking comfortable with a two-try ascendancy, the Raiders then took their foot off the pedal and the Knights pounced. Shaun Kenny-Dowall took advantage of some flimsy defence and crashed over for the visitors' second try and with Ponga's fantastic sideline conversion, the gap was just six points, setting up a tense final 15 minutes.

Try as they might, Newcastle couldn't force Canberra's hand, and four minutes from fulltime Williams booted home the one-pointer to seal Canberra's second victory of the season.

They'll take that confidence next week to Townsville when they visit the Cowboys, while the Knights head home for the next fortnight, hosting the Dragons and Manly at McDonald Jones Stadium across Rounds 4 and 5.