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NRL greats left fuming over 'ridiculous' scenes in Raiders victory

andrew reid
·4-min read
Pictured right, Canberra's Corey Horsburgh puts kick pressure on Newcastle half Adam Clune during their match on Sunday.
Canberra's Corey Horsburgh was cleared over a contentious incident involving Newcastle half Adam Clune on Sunday. Pic: Getty/Channel Nine

The Canberra Raiders are breathing a sigh of relief after Corey Horsburgh was on Monday cleared of dangerous contact, over an incident against Newcastle on Sunday that left viewers seething.

The Raiders salvaged their finals hopes after overturning a 20-8 half-time deficit against the lowly Knights, to storm home to a 28-22 win.

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With the match very much still in the balance, Horsburgh was penalised and placed on report for late contact on Adam Clune, as the Knights halfback was in the process of kicking downfield early in the second half.

Horsburgh appeared to push Clune right as he was kicking the ball, with the fiery Raiders interchange giving his Knights rival a spray afterwards, as he lay on the ground.

The bunker reviewed the incident and agreed that the contact was late from Horsburgh, deeming he had not made a "genuine attempt" to tackle Clune.

The incident left commentators and fans livid, with viewers denying that it was late or dangerous contact and arguing that Horsburgh was simply putting pressure on the kicker.

League greats Billy Slater and Andrew Johns were both left scratching their heads about what offence the Canberra player had committed.

"What's he done wrong? I want to know where in the rules you need to make a genuine attempt to make a tackle. You are allowed to push people," Slater said on Channel Nine's coverage.

Johns added: "Not attempting a tackle? He was putting pressure on."

Phil Gould was among a number of viewers to slam the decision on social media, describing it as a "ridiculous" penalty.

The Raiders were unconvincing in their comeback victory and still need to win their remaining games against Manly and Wests Tigers to have any hope of qualifying for the finals.

A 20-0 second half will give the Raiders confidence heading into the final fortnight of the regular season but in his first game back from suspension, coach Ricky Stuart would have been frustrated by his side's slow start.

The Knights' turbulent week was headlined by an NRL Integrity Unit investigation into co-captain Kalyn Ponga and Kurt Mann.

But just as they did after David Klemmer's run-in with a club trainer, Newcastle managed to divorce themselves from the dramas off the field to ambush their opposition on it.

On the back of a perfect completion rate and some fruitful kicking from Anthony Milford, the Knights produced their best 40 minutes since the opening month of the season to lead Canberra 22-8 at the break.

Seen here, Newcastle's Dane Gagai being tackled during the round 23 NRL match against the Canberra Raiders.
Newcastle's Dane Gagai is tackled during the round 23 NRL match against the Canberra Raiders. Pic: Getty

Raiders coach shuts down questions around complacency

Stuart shot down suggestions his side had taken the 14th-placed Knights lightly in their preparations for the game.

"It's not that at all, respectfully," he said.

"I'd leave a player out if I sensed any type of complacency and I know the senior boys would come to me, too. It was definitely not that."

Stuart instead pointed to skill errors and ill discipline for the half-time deficit.

"Giving some penalties away on tackle one or tackle two after a kick chase, passing and hoping on some of those rucks, that isn't the standard we want to play at," he said.

Edrick Lee and debutant Krystian Mapapalangi were called into the side after Enari Tuala and Bradman Best were dropped for disciplinary issues and they formed a promising combination on the left.

On the other side, Dom Young bagged a double of his own to affirm his status as one of the Knights' best players in a poor season.

But the Knights' goal-line defence has been vulnerable all year and was twice penetrated by tries from kicks in the opening exchanges of the second half.

The game no longer on their terms, the Knights were unable to fight the Green Machine as it rolled forward.

Raiders prop forwards Josh Papalii and Joe Tapine combined to gift Jack Wighton the runaway try which sealed victory.

with AAP

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