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Canberra manager Ricky Stuart is known for his aggravated sideline antics but helium mislaid it successful a precise antithetic mode erstwhile his Raiders scored a miraculous last-minute effort to bushed Cronulla connected Thursday night.
The aboriginal try-of-the-season contender successful the dying minutes sealed a 24-20 comeback NRL triumph for the Green Machine - and Stuart couldn't incorporate his joyousness arsenic helium hugged anyone wrong touching region of him successful chaotic scenes astatine GIO Stadium.
Down by 2 points with 90 seconds remaining and seemingly retired of ideas successful onslaught connected tackle five, the Green Machine dispersed the shot from sideline to sideline earlier it yet ended up successful the hands of Xavier Savage.
An unfamiliar kicker, Savage managed to poke a grubber done to fullback Kaeo Weekes.
Weekes flicked it connected to Simi Sasagi who delivered a last wrong shot for Sebastian Kris to people the effort that sent the 10,000-strong Canberra faithful and manager Ricky Stuart into raptures connected Thursday night.
'You've seen what this nine is astir successful that past minute-and-a-half. You've seen what this nine is built on,' said an elated Stuart, who held 2 Raiders unit members successful a celebratory headlock pursuing the match-winner.
Raiders manager Ricky Stuart couldn't incorporate his joyousness erstwhile his broadside stormed location to bushed Cronulla conscionable earlier the siren connected Thursday night
Known for his strength during games, 'Sticky' grabbed and hugged immoderate Raiders staffer helium could get his hands connected erstwhile Sebastian Kris scored the winner
Their triumph comes contempt being temporarily reduced to 12 men aft the NRL's latest high-tackle crackdown claimed its archetypal victim.
Canberra second-rower Hudson Young was sent to the misdeed bin for a comparatively innocuous changeable connected Cronulla skipper Cameron McInnes successful the 58th minute.
Coaches had been enactment connected announcement by the league up of circular six that nonstop forceful interaction to the caput would effect successful 10 minutes connected the sidelines.
But if Young's deed was nonstop and forceful, it was hardly much truthful than a changeable from Cronulla guardant Billy Burns connected Matt Timoko successful the archetypal fractional that referee Todd Smith deemed worthy lone of a penalty.
The melodramatic decorativeness was the lone infinitesimal of enactment successful an different dour 2nd half.
The five-day turnaround took its toll connected some teams successful the end, Sharks manager Craig Fitzgibbon suggested.
'I deliberation we were some retired of state astatine the extremity there,' helium said.
'We conscionable couldn't find a way, and they recovered it successful that past play.
Stuart wasn't precisely each smiles aft the match, however, arsenic helium slammed the NRL's crackdown connected precocious shots
Pictured: Canberra stars observe the effort that sealed the triumph with conscionable 90 seconds left
'I thought it was a beauteous adjacent lucifer successful the extremity but our execution's conscionable a small disconnected astatine the moment.'
It was a stark opposition to a frenetic archetypal half, successful which Canberra and Cronulla went effort for try, scoring 3 apiece to participate the interval level locked astatine 18-all.
First Matty Nicholson stormed implicit for the location side, earlier Mawene Hiroti, deputising successful the centres for the injured Kayal Iro, divided the spread betwixt Timoko and Savage 3 minutes later.
Then Young got connected the extremity of a Tom Starling grubber kick, lone for his effort to beryllium cancelled retired by Briton Nikora's archetypal of the lucifer pursuing immoderate limp defending by Kris and Ethan Strange.
A 2nd effort for Young was followed by different to his other number.
Nikora, latching onto the shot aft a breakdown successful the onslaught connected the past tackle, attempted to grubber past Canberra No.13 Corey Horsburgh.
The shot ricocheted disconnected Horsburgh's knees and backmost into the way of Nikora, who instinctively stuck retired a toe, kicked it a 3rd time, and dotted down successful the in-goal.
The triumph lifts Canberra into the apical 8 arsenic they hole for a tricky travel to Darwin to look bottom-dwellers Parramatta.
After 2 losses connected the trot, and pursuing different disappointing showing from talisman Nicho Hynes, Cronulla look a hard distant travel to a high-flying Manly side.
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