Canberra coach Ricky Stuart injures HIMSELF as he celebrates on the sidelines as Raiders clear 14-point deficit to defeat Warriors
Canberra Raiders defeated Warriors 26-14 to keep hopes of the final alive
Raiders trailed 14-0 before scoring 26 unanswered runs in the second half
Ricky Stuart appeared to injure himself while celebrating an attempt in Canberra
The experienced coach seemed to limp on the sidelines
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Canberra’s pursuit of the NRL’s top eight has continued after an impressive 26-14 win over the Warriors on Saturday – but coach Ricky Stuart may have injured himself celebrating a second half attempt.
In hilarious scenes, the club legend – who this week signed a contract extension until 2025 – was on his merry way and leapt to the sidelines as Corey Harawira-Naera grabbed his second four-pointer to seal the result at GIO Stadium.
On Fox League commentary, host Warren Smith Stuart – a three-time premiership winning halfback in lime green – quipped “might need a stint on the massage table” after his emotional response.
Canberra coach Ricky Stuart appeared to injure himself while celebrating on the sidelines
The Raiders trailed 12-0 before they even touched the ball and looked like a shadow of the team that rolled Melbourne last round.
But they broke out of their slumber in the second 40 minutes with a Corey Harawira-Naera double off the bench and watched the Warriors burn down.
Canberra are now level with wins with Sydney Roosters in eighth place, but are only out of the final positions via a points difference with six games left in the season.
It is also only the third time this season that they have won consecutive games and it couldn’t have come at a better time as they try to break into the top eight with a favorable draw to finish the regular season .
Stuart jumped off the bench to celebrate the Raiders’ fourth attempt late in the game
But seemed to pull a muscle and soon after you could see a shiver from the pain
Five of their remaining six games are against teams of the bottom eight and they are likely to start favorites in all outings save for a round 21 clash with Penrith.
Their battle on Saturday started immediately after halftime when Albert Hopoate snuck into the corner for his first Raiders attempt.
Seb Kris dragged back another try to make it 14-10 with 20 minutes left, the beneficiary of a delightful assist from Xavier Savage.
The deal was sealed with halfback Jamal Fogarty and bench striker Harawira-Naera, with the former giving two try assists to the latter as they counted territorial dominance with a 24-14 lead.
The Raiders kept their hopes for the final alive with a 26-14 win over the Warriors on Saturday
Sebastian Kris scored the Raiders’ second attempt as Canberra snagged 26 points after the break
Remarkably, the Raiders completed all 22 sets in the second half after 63 percent in the first stanza.
The Raiders can once again thank star player Joe Tapine for taking control in the middle after cracking 191m, 80m post contact, five tackle busts and three offloads.
A busy afternoon from Adam Elliott saw him make a team-high 31 tackles to match his 101m.
Jack Murchie scored the opening try for the Warriors, who were leading 14-0 at halftime
Corey Harawira-Naera has doubled the game for the Raiders
The Warriors looked sharp early on, but were beaten by just 25 percent of the territory in the second half.
Previously, Jack Murchie and Daejarn Asi had scored the opening tries of the match, the latter taking advantage after his outrageous bomb forced fullback Savage to drop the ball.
Winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak did what he could with a big 159m, while Tohu Harris hit 120m and made 42 tackles.
The Warriors’ 2022 campaign record now stands at 5-13.