Canberra Raiders STUN Cronulla Sharks as Hudson Young strikes late to hand Ricky Stuart’s side superb victory decided by a call from the bunker in the dying seconds
- A late Hudson Young try saw Canberra Raiders defeat the Cronulla Sharks
- Matt Moylan had put the Sharks ahead 19-18 with six minutes left to play
- However, Young stole the points in the dying seconds in a big opening day win
- Sharks boss Craig Fitzgibbon was not present after testing positive for Covid
A late Hudson Young try has netted Canberra a 24-19 win to start their NRL season in a wild encounter with Cronulla, decided by a call from the bunker in the dying seconds.
Matt Moylan had put his side ahead 19-18 with six minutes to play via a drop goal, but just when the contest looked like it was slipping, Young burst through multiple Sharks defenders in the 76th minute to find the match-winning try on Friday night at GIO Stadium.
Having locked things up at 18-18 on 54 minutes, Cronulla looked to have stolen the points after a dominant second half via five-eighth Moylan, who struck a perfect drop goal for a one-point advantage.
The Canberra Raiders stole the points late thanks to a Hudson Young try against Cronulla
In a nip-and-tuck contest, the Sharks led 19-18 with six minute remaining at GIO Stadium
However, Young struck late and with a little help from the bunker, wrapped up a seismic win
Cronulla Sharks stars Royce Hunt, Andrew Fifita and Toby Rudolf look stunned after the game
The Sharks came within inches of a last-minute try but Matt Ikuvalu was judged to have been held up as he lunged for the line.
The win is Canberra’s seventh straight triumph against Cronulla.
The home side started brightly and forced four repeat sets and Semi Valemei had their first chance but lost the ball reaching for the line.
Jack Wighton got things going on nine minutes, starting a break with a beautiful pickup and effecting a one-two with Nick Cotric to score.
The rampant Raiders surged to 12-0 in the 17th minute with powerful Corey Harawira-Naera bouncing off defenders and flicking a pass for Valemei to lunge and find the line.
Raiders gun Chamze Nicoll-Klokstad attempts to break through the line during the second half
Sharks star Aiden Tolman goes to ground after being swarmed by Canberra players on Friday
The Sharks got on the board as hooker Blayke Brailey dummied following a scrum win and broke through the Raiders line.
Canberra ran for 400 more meters in the first half and controlled the contest with 65 per cent possession, but only found the points their dominance merited on the stroke of halftime when a Tom Starling grubber bounced for the sharp hands of Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad to restore the 12-point advantage.
Desperately needing to lift, the Sharks looked energized to start the second and were denied a Siona Katoa try by a Cotric strip, but Will Kennedy would score on 50 minutes for 18-12.
And they were level three minutes later, Teig Wilton the beneficiary of a delightful ball from star recruit Nicho Hynes, who then slotted the conversion from the sideline.
Cronulla controlled the second half with Hynes instrumental but couldn’t make their dominance count, with a number of errors in attacking positions costing them the win.
Raiders hooker Josh Hodgson left the field in the seventh minute holding the outside of his right knee and failed to return.
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