Rapana heroics help Raiders dunk Dolphins in golden point epic

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Dolphins v Canberra Raiders

An 87th-minute field goal has seen Jordan Rapana guide the Canberra Raiders to a 26-25 away win over the Dolphins at Redcliffe tonight.

In a see-sawing contest that has seen early crows of 'game of the year', it was the home side Dolphins who got on the board early, hooker Jeremy Marshall-King going over beside the posts. The 6-0 lead following Jamayne Isaako's conversion would be cancelled out by Xavier Savage flying over for the visitors' first try five minutes later.

The Raiders went from six down to six up in a short space of time with Ata Mariota strolling over before the 20-minute mark and suddenly found themselves 12-6 leaders.

The back-and-forth nature of the contest became apparent at the 25th minute with Jack Bostock hitting the tryscorer list off a Herbie Farnworth offload, Isaako again converting to level the action at 12-all inside half an hour.

The scoreboard would click over for a fifth time just six minutes from the break when Canberra back rower Elliott Whitehead broke two tackles and crashed over, and the Raiders went to the break off that converted try to lead 18-12.

Tries were a little more spaced out in the second forty, with Jake Averillo striking first for the Dolphins just three minutes after the resumption, but that deadlock remained until Kaeo Weekes went himself, skirting Isaiya Katoa to score out wide.

The 24-18 lead evaporated ten minutes later when Phins utility Kurt Donoghoe crossed in the corner for what would be the last try of the contest, Isaako's perfect goalkicking record ensuring a grandstand final ten minutes.

Field goals from Isaako and Jordan Rapana provided the platform to take an entertaining contest to extra time, with the scoreline finishing 25-all after regulation time.

Extra time was packed with controversy, with four field goal attempts (two each) and a penalty against the Dolphins for a blocker when it looked like Isaako had iced the game. The agonising seven minutes extra finally produce a golden point victor, with Rapana's one-pointer avoiding scrutiny from the officials despite home side players claiming obstruction, the field goal standing and Canberra taking a 26-25 win home.

Both sides will get a weekend extra to recover from that gruelling contest, with the Dolphins heading away to Cronulla the week after, and Canberra hosting the Cowboys the same weekend.