The Canberra Raiders' finals hopes are officially over after they suffered a 30-24 defeat to the Newcastle Knights in their second final home game of the season.
The Raiders fought back from an early 8-0 deficit to level the scores at 18-all heading into half-time, but were unable to complete the comeback as the Knights held on for a six-point victory.
However, the controversial moment of the night came inside the final ten minutes when Raiders prop Corey Horsburgh was sent to the sin bin for striking Newcastle centre Dane Gagai.
Gagai pushed the Raiders forward to play the ball, with Horsburgh responding by slapping the Knights centre in the face.
The referee initially awarded a penalty to Canberra, ruling that Newcastle had started the small melee, before Knights captain Kalyn Ponga opted to challenge a separate high tackle decision.
The challenge was not taken up by the referee, who instead overturned the original decision and sent Horsburgh to the sin bin for striking.
With the Raiders down to 12 men, the Knights capitalised through winger Dom Young, who crossed for the final and left Canberra without any remainder of finals hopes.
Despite the controversy surrounding the decision, Raiders coach Ricky Stuart agreed with the sin bin.
“Of course it was (a sin bin)" Stuart stated.
"There was one the other week with Alex Twal, everyone knows you can't do that.”
Stuart was also left frustrated by Horsburgh's reaction, believing the incident could have handed Canberra a penalty and the chance to level the scores at 26-all with a two-point kick.
“There was a brain explosion,” Stuart said post-match.
“I mean we got a penalty, it was a f***ing brain explosion.”
Ponga admitted Newcastle were unsure exactly what had transpired but ultimately believed the correct decision was reached.
“We believed it was a head high; I'm not too sure what was exchanged. At the end of the day, I feel like they got the call right in the end. Bunker, I guess, stepped in and there's really nothing to comment on there,” Ponga said.
The defeat means Stuart's Raiders are now officially out of the race for September football, with the remainder of their season set to provide an opportunity for the coach to assess his squad for 2027.
With Canberra no longer able to reach the finals, Stuart admitted he will use the final rounds to give some of his younger players an opportunity.
“I will play some young blokes that I want to have a look at," Stuart admitted
However, Stuart's selections will also be influenced by the Raiders' reserve-grade side, with the coach wary of disrupting their NSW Cup finals campaign.
