NRL Magic Round ends with a controversial golden point finish between the Raiders and Storm

We almost made it to the end of Magic Round without bunker controversy – but a thrilling win by the Raiders over the Storm ended with some contentious decisions that will surely be examined, writes BRENT READ.

We almost made it. We almost got to the end of Magic Round without any controversy involving the bunker. No such luck though as a weekend that attracted record crowds at Suncorp Stadium ended with Canberra winning a golden point thriller over Melbourne thanks to some late decisions that were at the very least contentious. At the worst they were highly controversial.

Remarkably, both coaches and clubs had a right to be disappointed although the Storm were no doubt more devastated after three decisions in the dying minutes that crueled their night.

With rain pelting down in the second half, the Storm looked on their way to victory thanks to an inspiring performance from Sua Faalogo.

If this season has taught us anything, it is that Canberra are never beaten. The Raiders clawed their way back into the match but even then, the Storm looked to have secured the victory with five minutes remaining when Ryan Papenhuyzen nailed a field goal.

As the Storm made their way back for the kickoff, referee Gerard Sutton sent the play to the bunker for review and the kick was ruled out after Trent Loiero was deemed to have dropped his elbow on Joey Tapine in the lead-up.

After a weekend when the bunker stayed out of the way, technology came back to haunt the Storm. Then it got worse as Kaoe Weekes came up with a brilliant play to level the scores with less than one minute remaining in regulation time.

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“Special,” Canberra coach Ricky Stuart said of Weekes’ try.

“I always want them to back their ability.”

Then, in golden point, the Storm were setting up for a shot at field goal and Stefano Utoikamanu was penalised and sent to the sin-bin for an incident involving Raiders hooker Tom Starling.

If that wasn’t enough, Loiero was then penalised with one minute remaining in the first half of golden point for a high shot on Hudson Young.

Jamal Fogarty stepped up and nailed the penalty to give the Raiders a remarkable win, having looked dead and buried at times in the first half.

Storm coach Craig Bellamy refused to be critical of the officiating, preferring to focus on the discipline of his players after they threw a game that was in their keeping.

“To give away two penalties when you have got the ball, it cost us,” Bellamy said.

“One thing we can control is our actions. Like I say to give away two penalties when you have the ball - that doesn’t happen too often.

“It cost us, it cost us dearly. I don’t know whether we get bored sticking to a game plan. Perhaps we will have to sharpen up our game plans so they get a bit interested.

“It was working and then we want to change it a touch. That’s when we started to go down hill.”

SUPER SUA

Sua Faalogo made some brilliant plays. Picture: Hannah Peters/Getty Images

Faalogo has had to be patient this season but in the space of two weeks, he has given everyone a reminder of his breathtaking pace and footwork.

He had the crowd on its feet in the seventh minute as he used his blistering speed to get on the outside of the Raiders defence and put the Storm deep in attack.

Moments later, Melbourne opened the scoring when Cameron Munster kicked across field for Grant Anderson and the Storm centre managed to get the ball down despite the attention of Canberra players.

Less than 10 minutes later, Faalogo was at it again. This time, he was put in space by Nick Meaney and streaked down field. As Xavier Savage came across in cover, Faalogo put a perfectly-weighted kick in field for Papenhuyzen and the Storm fullback scored under the posts.

Faalogo has been a star in waiting in Melbourne for some reasons now, only to have his path to the first grade No.1 jersey blocked by the brilliant Papenhuyzen.

He has had to be patient but his performance on the wing in the opening half at Suncorp Stadium suggests he will heap pressure on coach Craig Bellamy to keep him in the side when the Storm’s injured stars begin to trickle back.

He added a try of his own in the second half, taking. Nick Meaney pass and plunging over the line

PLUCKY RAIDERS

The match was fiery from the get-go. Picture: NRL Photos

The Raiders once again showed they will be a force this season as they put up a genuine fight against one of the competition heavyweights.

Coach Ricky Stuart would have been disappointed with the way his side missed the kick at the start of the game, falling behind to two tries.

But they showed character to work their way back into the contest and were unlucky to go into halftime behind on the scoreboard.

Plenty of experts had the Raiders locked in for the wooden spoon before the season started but with every week, they show it would be foolhardy to write them off.

They make life difficult for the opposition every time they take the park. Sunday night’s win set up a titanic tussle against league leaders the Bulldogs this week.

It should be a belter.

Jamal Fogarty kicked the winner. Picture: NRL Photos

MAROONS WIN … SORT OF

It was a difficult weekend for the Queensland teams but for a long time, it looked like the Maroons faithful could take solace in the fact that the Storm were about to walk away from Magic Round with a win.

They mightn’t be based north of the border, but the Storm are Queensland’s adopted fifth side given the slew of Maroons in their ranks.

State of Origin is on the horizon and the portents weren’t good after a record-breaking weekend for the code in terms of Magic Round attendance.

The Broncos were battered. The Titans were terrorised. The Dolphins were destroyed. The Cowboys were unlucky. The Storm looked like going some way to giving the locals something to cheer about as they led for a long time against the valiant Raiders.

Sure enough, the Storm suffered heartbreak and Queensland fans felt it with them.

Originally published as NRL Magic Round ends with a controversial golden point finish between the Raiders and Storm