After leading 17-12 at the break on the back of a field goal from Clinton Schifcofske, the Raiders held out the Knights for much of the second half.

Mark McLinden scored two tries for Canberra in an excellent display at five eighth, but they lost Schifcofske to a suspected broken leg just minutes from the end.

The Knights struggled with ball possession, particularly in the second half, and superstar Andrew Johns clearly looked tired after backing up from Friday night’s heroics against Great Britain.

Newcastle, who were without Kangaroo hooker Danny Buderus and prop Josh Perry- also lost Robbie O’Davis to injury.

The Knights ran in two late tries to bring the score back to 29-24 with five minutes remaining before another Raiders field goal, this time to Brett Finch, sealed victory for the home side.

The upset win sees Newcastle remain in third place on the NRL table after they were leap-frogged by the Brisbane Broncos last night, while Canberra are now just three points out of the NRL top eight.

The Knights began confidently, opening the scoring in the fourth minute with a try to Justin Ryder. Johns converted from the sideline, putting Newcastle out to a 6-0 lead.

After absorbing a lot of pressure from the Knights, the Raiders began to work their way down field. In the 12th minute, referee Matt Cecchin awarded try to McLinden who had crashed over under the posts. But the play before the Raiders had knocked on, Cecchin erring in not making a decision.

Schifcofske added the two points to Canberra’s total evening the scores at 6-all, then soon after Ruben Wiki scored off a break by McLinden.
Schifcofske added the extras then saved a potential try to Knights five eighth Sean Rudder with a ball stripping tackle.

Back down the other end of the field, the Raiders kept attacking Ryder under the high ball, the Newcastle winger’s vulnerability resulting in McLinden’s second try.

Down 16-6 the Knights hit back with a converted try to John Morris off a Johns kick, before Schifcofske added a field goal to give Canberra a 17-12 lead at the break.

After halftime the Raiders kept toiling, their compact defence keeping the Knights from making inroads.

Schifcofske scored himself before Finch went over for the Raiders fifth try, the match seemingly safe in their keeping at 29-12.

The Knights rallied to pull the deficit to 29-24 on the back of tries to Timana Tahu and Anthony Quinn, and had a real chance to come back and beat the tiring home side.

Canberra lost Schifcofske-as usual amongst the Raiders best- ten minutes from full time to a suspected broken leg, further denting their confidence.

Finch steadied the Raiders with a field goal, and Newcastle were unable to score during the final stages.

The well deserved 30-24 win keeps Canberra in the hunt for a spot in the NRL top eight, while Newcastle slip to third on the ladder behind competition leaders the Bulldogs.