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Extra-time stunner as Warriors hold off epic Raiders comeback

The New Zealand Warriors have seen off a stunning Raiders comeback to claim a thrilling golden point win and leapfrog Canberra into the top four.

Fox League
3 min read
July 21, 2023 - 8:23PM
Shaun Johnson celebrates the win.
Shaun Johnson celebrates the win.

The New Zealand Warriors have seen off a stunning Raiders comeback to claim a thrilling golden point victory and leapfrog Canberra into the top four.

The Warriors led 14-6 at halftime and stretched the margin to 20-6 in the second half before the Raiders put on three tries in the final 16 minutes, including two in the final 90 seconds.

Jarrod Croker missed a potential match-winning sideline conversion on the buzzer, before Shaun Johnson capped a masterful individual performance by nailing a 30-metre field goal to ice the game in extra-time.

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The Raiders, buoyed by returning duo Josh Papalii and Pasami Saulo, dominated possession and territory in the first half. But their attack failed to fire and their only points came from a runaway try after a Warriors knock-on.

And the Warriors made Canberra pay for a repeated failure to convert pressure into points, with Marata Niukore taking less than five minutes to score on his return from a three-week suspension ... only to fail a HIA midway through the first half.

Hudson Young levelled the scores after picking up a Warriors knock-on and racing clear to ground the ball beneath the points, but the Raiders just couldn’t seem to find their stride going forward.

Dallin Watene-Zelezniak delivered a highlight-reel trysaver three minutes before halftime to deny Canberra fullback Seb Kris – though he was lucky to avoid punishment for making contact with the fullback’s head in the process.

Dan Ginnane said in commentary: “This is just stunning … This might just be his biggest play of the year!”

Shane Flanagan said on Fox League: “Those types of moments win football games.”

“Huge play, it was a big turning point,” Cooper Cronk said at halftime.

The Warriors went the length of the field to score the following set, with Shaun Johnson charging to the line before teeing up Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad to dive through and deliver the Warriors a 14-6 lead at the break.

As the second half began, tensions boiled over when Warrior Josh Curran laid a massive shot on Hudson Young before shoving the Canberra player while he was on the ground.

Players from both sides rushed in, with Corey Horsburgh shoving Curran in a heated fracas – but somehow managing to avoid 10 minutes on the pine.

Johnson continued to pull the strings for the Warriors in the second half, who extended their lead in the 49th minute when some slick work from Johnson helped Watene-Zelezniak to cruise in to score down the right. It was Watene-Zelezniak’s 14th try in nine games.

“It can’t be stopped,” Dan Ginnane said.

“It can’t be stopped because of the class of Shaun Johnson,” Shane Flanagan replied, with the playmaker running deep into the line before feeding it to the right flank.

The Raiders’ struggles worsened in 15 minutes into the second half when Joseph Tapine was sent for a HIA after copping a stray elbow from a teammate.

But the Raiders showed plenty of heart to spark a brilliant comeback in the final 20 minutes.

“It’s great defence from the Warriors but poor attack from the Raiders,” Shane Flanagan said in commentary as the Raiders struggled to break down the hosts’ goal-line defence/

But after five minutes of pounding on the door, they found a way through when Jordan Rapana leapt highest to claim a kick in the in-goal and ground it for a try.

The Warriors closed in on victory before the Raiders ensured things would go down to the wire with a late Elliot Whitehead try with a minute to play, diving on the end of a Jordan Rapana grubber.

The conversion made it 20-16.

“Geez they’ve been gutsy, the Raiders,” Ginnane said.

Then the green machine went the length of the field on the restart to level the scores through Jack Wighton on the left, only for Croker to miss the potential match-winning conversion from the sideline.

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“This is a play that can change the season,” Ginnane said.

The Raiders had the ball first in golden point, and marched up the field - only for Jamal Fogerty to over-hit his kick, which was caught in the in-goal to deliver the Warriors a seven-tackle set.

It finished with Shaun Johnson, bandaged and bloodied after a head collision with a teammate late in the match, icing the game with a clinical field goal from 30 metres out.

Originally published as Extra-time stunner as Warriors hold off epic Raiders comeback

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/extratime-stunner-as-warriors-hold-off-epic-raiders-comeback/news-story/1586baae72e330a689a11eebd5b0dc8a