Raiders complete epic fightback after two binned
The Canberra Raiders have pulled off a remarkable comeback late in their clash against the Canterbury Bulldogs after the side took to the field with 11 players at the start of the second half.
A late double from Hudson Young sealed the victory for the side, with the Bulldogs unable to hold off the Canberra attack.
The Magic Round opener was nothing short of chaotic, with both Jordan Rapana and Josh Papalii being given marching orders just four minutes apart in the first half.
The Raiders were leading before the pair being sent to the bin but we head into half-time trailing by two against the Bulldogs.
A linebreak from Josh Addo-Carr looked set for the Bulldogs star to power over the line, with the Bulldogs star opting to kick ahead twice to make easy metres down the field.
On the second kick chase, a chasing Rapana smashed the winger to the ground, earning him 10 minutes in the bin.
"There was no need for it, the kick was horrible," Mick Ennis says in commentary for Fox League.
Minutes later, Canberra said goodbye to Papalii who was placed on report for a hip-drop tackle on Viliame Kikau.
Josh Papali'i of the Raiders is sent off for ten minutes by referee Ashley Klein.
The Bulldogs second-rower was sandwiched between Papalii and Kaeo Weekes and was left yelling in pain after the tackle.
"This is hip drop areas. Papalii is off the ground in the tackle," Andrew Voss said on Fox League's commentary.
Papalii was seen checking on Kikau after the tackle but that was not enough to keep him on the field, with the referee Ashlee Klein wasting no time to send the prop to the bin.
"You had the grip and lost control of the tackle," Klein said.
"Your body weight has landed on your player which has also contributed to more force.
"You're on report and in the bin."
Voss said: "Down to 11. Canberra are down to 11."
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Viliame Kikau was tackled by Raiders defenders.
"I think we heard Elliott Whitehead say, you are going to bin him, aren't you? And he said, yes."
Greg Alexander believes Weekes had a part in the tackle going wrong, but had no issue confirming that it was a hip-drop tackle.
"I thought the fact that another Canberra player in Kaeo Weekes was in there, who got in between Kikau and Papalii," Alexander said.
""But there is no denying what you are looking for in a hip-drop tackle. It happened just there and then. That is an example of it."
"We are all better educated now as commentators and fans, Papalii is a big man and he was completely off the ground for a moment," Voss added.
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"And control of the tackle is lost. Kikau will come from the field and Canberra is playing with 11 men.
"What a dramatic start to game one of Magic Round."
Xavier Savage made the most of an error by Bulldogs fullback Connor Tracey, scooping up a loose ball before powering his way over the line to open the scoring.
Despite repeated errors from both teams, the Bulldogs came close to levelling the scores with a bomb kick from Drew Hutchinson leaving the ball bouncing in open space.
Bronson Xerri received the ball before offloading to Addo-Carr who tipped-toed over the line but was denied the four points. The Bulldogs gifted the Raiders their second try of the night, as a loose carry from Jacob Kiraz went straight into the hands of Sebastian Kris who raced over the line.
"Canberra has got 12 on the board directly from mistakes," Andrew Voss said in commentary for Fox League.
"They've collided.
"What is the rule when you're in goal? Jump on the ball," Greg Alexander said.
Hudson Young scores a double in the NRL Magic Round opener.
The Bulldogs capitalised on the sin bins going from 12-6 down to 20-12 on the stroke of half-time after a late try from Matt Burton.
Hudson Young went over twice for the Raiders to open the second half, punching the ball into the ground as Suncorp Stadium erupted.
The final minutes saw both sides go set for set, with an error off the back of a scrum by the Bulldogs awarding Canberra the victory.
"Tonight might not be in the top 10 but it's another good one for the Raiders," Voss said.
"It started with a Viking clap and it's finished with a Viking clap."