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The Canberra Raiders are heading to the NRL grand final for the first time in 25 years after a dogged, 16-10 victory over the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
- Canberra won 16-10 despite Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad being sin-binned with ten-and-a-half minutes remaining
- Josh Hodgson set up a try and saved another with two one-on-one strips
- Josh Papalii was put on report for a high hit and is in danger of missing the grand final
Backed by a parochial crowd of 26,567 at Canberra Stadium — the biggest ever NRL crowd in the nation's capital — the Raiders held a 10-6 lead early in the second half, thanks to tries by Jarrod Croker and Jack Wighton either side of Rabbitoh Dane Gagai's first-half four-pointer.
The Raiders had to withstand a tremendous second half from the Rabbitohs, a challenge made even tougher by the late sin-binning of full-back Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.
But Souths frequent charges were repelled by a green wall of Canberra defenders and the hosts extended their lead thanks to a typically barnstorming Josh Papalii try under the posts.
Papalii ran for 179 metres — a game high for a forward in a stand-out performance — but Raiders fans will be sweating on the availability of the big prop after he was put on report for a brutal shoulder hit on Souths fullback Adam Doueihi in the second half.
Campbell Graham charged over to give Souths hope with two minutes to go, but it was not enough as Canberra hung on for a famous victory, to the delight of their supporters.
Souths started nervously in front of a passionate crowd, turning the ball over repeatedly to hand the Raiders the early initiative.
A piece of brilliance from Josh Hodgson lead to Croker's opening score, the Englishman ripping the ball from Ethan Lowe — a late starter in place of George Burgess, who was dropped from the squad at the 11th hour by Wayne Bennett — in a one-on-one strip.
It was the Hull-born hooker's 13th one-on-one strip of the season — nine more than any other player in the NRL.
Hodgson then slipped a delicate kick in behind the Souths defence before following up and punching the ball out of Corey Allan's arms as he attempted to escape the in-goal, allowing Croker to touch down the loose ball for the opening try of the game.
However, Hodgson's involvement was not without controversy — just minutes earlier the 29-year-old looked wobbly on his feet after a big collision with Liam Knight in the midfield.
On Channel 9, commentator Peter Sterling said: "I can't believe that Hodgson passed the HIA, if you look at how he stumbled after the tackle."
Former Blues player-turned Fox Sports pundit Braith Anasta agreed, saying at half time that Hodgson should have been withdrawn.
"That was clear as day. He was struggling to get to his feet… you can't have rules for some and not for others. We've had this all year.
"He should have been taken straight off the field."
Hodgson — who was the Raiders' best in the opening 40 minutes with 21 tackles and two strips — was spoken to by both Raiders and NRL doctors, who cleared him to continue.
The Raiders were doubly thankful for that after the English-rake turned his considerable talents to the defensive quarter, ripping the ball away from a flying Cody Walker when the Rabbitohs star had the line at his mercy.
For the Raiders, the let-up was only momentary as Souths crossed shortly after through Dane Gagai — the Maroons centre diving over in the corner after a precise set-play off a scrum after John Bateman knocked on.
Souths had their tails up approaching the break and should have scored a second before the interval, but were denied by a stunning try-saving tackle on the line by Papalii on Tevita Tatola.
After the interval, the Raiders retook the lead as Wighton regathered his own kick to score in the corner after an indeterminable delay from the video referee.
The Raiders number six gathered a tap back from a leaping Nicoll-Klokstad, but in doing so fumbled the ball onto his knee before poking forward off his toe before it hit the ground to flummox the splintered Rabbitohs defence.
Wighton's high bombs were causing chaos in the Souths defence, Walker saving a certain try from Nicoll-Klokstad.
As the Raiders looked to capitalise on the pressure, enthusiasm got the better of Papalii, who was placed on report for smashing Souths fullback Doueihi under the chin with his shoulder, a tackle that could see the Maroons prop miss next week's grand final thanks to an unfavourable disciplinary record.
Souths gained the ascendancy mid-way through the half, earning four repeat sets in a frenetic ten-minute spell, but were foiled by a tiring-but-dogged Canberra defensive line.
After weathering the storm, Reynolds intercepted the ball and ran 70 metres the other way before being tackled by Nicoll-Klokstad, who pawed at the ball as Reynolds attempted to play it, earning him ten minutes in the bin with just ten-and-a-half minutes to play for a professional foul.
With an anguished Nicoll-Klokstad watching on from the dressing room, South gifted the ball back to the Raiders, allowing Papalii to bounce off three would-be tacklers to crash over under the posts and send the Raiders to the decider.
The victory sends Ricky Stuart to his first grand final in 15 years, ending his long wait for another shot at the premiership, all the while extending the drought for Souths mentor Wayne Bennett.
Topics: nrl, rugby-league, sport, australia, act, canberra-2600, nsw, redfern-2016
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