The Canberra Raiders put on an attacking masterclass on the back of their in-form halves combination to tear apart the Newcastle Knights.
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NSW State of Origin contender Blake Austin and boom halfback Sam Williams pulled the strings as the Raiders emphatically snapped a three-game losing streak with a 44-22 thrashing of the woeful Knights at Hunter Stadium on Saturday.
Austin battled through a hip injury to score two tries within the space of five minutes in the second half to wrest back control of the game, while Williams had a hand in four of the Raiders' seven tries.
The Raiders (6-7) are back within striking distance of the top eight and have the luxury of a week off before they host the red-hot North Queensland Cowboys at Canberra Stadium in a fortnight.
It was a much more relaxed Raiders coach Ricky Stuart who fronted the media after he left last week's press conference after just 25 seconds.
"I thought we were pretty diligent in areas of our game that got us to that scoreline," Stuart said.
"We were really happy with that type of win before we go into the Cowboys.
"We all know we've been starting slow, but we've looked at why in regards to some individual misses in defence."
It was an impressive bounce back for the Raiders after losing their past three games against the Dragons, Bulldogs and Broncos.
For the Knights, it was their eighth loss from their past nine games as their season threatens to spiral out of control.
Austin played through a hip injury, but he still managed to cross for two tries within the space of five minutes in the second half.
Stuart said it wouldn't be long before Austin is called up for NSW.
"It's not for me to say if he's up for it at this stage, I've got my own opinion," Stuart said.
"I'll never be pushing blokes, I'll do that privately with Laurie [Daley] and [Bob Fulton].
"He will definitely get his crack at some stage."
Raiders captain Jarrod Croker finished with a personal tally of 20 points with his first conversion of the game taking him past the 1000 point milestone.
"[Croker] is going to go on and break all records at this club," Stuart said.
"I was really excited for Jarrod tonight being so young in his career and achieving that.
"It's a huge effort for an individual."
The Raiders had been beaten 50-0 in the opening 20 minutes of their past three games, but put to bed thoughts of another slow start.
Edrick Lee scored after just four minutes before he reached up to the heavens, bringing down a Sam Williams bomb to get his second.
When Jack Wighton crossed off a beautiful attacking play, the Raiders had burst out to a 18-0 advantage after 20 minutes.
The Knights fought their way back into the contest.
Akuila Uate scored in the corner before Joey Leiulua - who has been strongly linked to the Raiders for next season - won the race to a grubber kick.
Josh Papalii crashed over a minute before halftime to give the momentum back to the Raiders for a 24-10 lead.
The Knights hit back through Sione Mata'utia early after half-time, but the Raiders weren't fazed.
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Austin continues to show why he's considered by many to be the buy of the season.
He has made the No.6 jersey his own at the Raiders after coming across from the Wests Tigers.
Austin said his hip injury wasn't that serious and said he wasn't in any doubt to take on the Cowboys in a fortnight.
"Not too bad, sort of got twisted a bit late in the tackle," Austin said.
"I got through the second half pretty well and we've got a week off so I'll be fine."
CANBERRA RAIDERS 44 (Blake Austin 2, Edrick Lee 2, Jarrod Croker, Josh Papalii, Jack Wighton tries; Croker 8 goals) bt NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS 22 (Dane Gagai, Joey Leilua, Sione Mata'utia, Akuila Uate tries; Kurt Gidley 3 goals) at Hunter Stadium. Referee: Gavin Reynolds, Grant Atkins. Crowd: 13,504.
