Talk about a heart-stopper. Even Ricky Stuart thought Chad Townsend was going to send it to golden point.
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But the Cronulla Sharks halfback couldn't take advantage of his two chances to level the scores, leaving the Canberra Raiders to hold on as 12-10 winners at a wet Kogarah Park on Sunday.
The Green Machine dominated the opening hour, but some resolute Cronulla defence kept the home side in the contest.
And if Townsend had done better than one from four from the kicking tee it could've been a different story.
Although the playmaker might have a reasonable excuse after he welcomed another addition to his young family during the week.
Stuart was convinced Townsend was going to level it from six metres in from touch.
"I just thought he'd correct his last kick. I thought he'd get it," he said.
"But I promise you I've lost a lot of those games too so I'm happy to be on the other end of that."
TALKING POINTS: Raiders lose cool at Kogarah but cling on for narrow win
Townsend had a shot from a similar position with seven minutes remaining after the NRL bunker awarded ex-Raider Josh Dugan a controversial try to cut the margin to two.
But he pulled that one left of the upright as well.
It's kept the Raiders' unbeaten start to the season going and brought up their fifth win in a row over the Sharks.
The latest loss soured Cronulla captain Wade Graham's 250th game - which started with the bad omen of him struggling to get through the banner pre-game.
Canberra could have a few injury concerns, with both Hudson Young and Siliva Havili finishing the game with their knees strapped.
Stuart said they'd monitor it to see how it pulled up, while Young was hopeful it wasn't serious after he finished the game.
He twisted it heading into a collision, after which a melee erupted.
Young capped off some smart play from Raiders centre Curtis Scott, who beat two Sharks players to a loose ball just before half-time.
Canberra co-captain Josh Hodgson then put the young second-rower over with a nice ball to make it 12-0 at the break.
"It's OK. We'll let it cool down now and see where it's at," Stuart said of Young's knee.
Canberra's middles were rampant for the opening 60 minutes, with Josh Papalii (121 metres), Joe Tapine (116m) and then Ryan James (115m) off the bench all dominant in front of 3145 fans who braved the big wet.
James is an early contender for one of the signings of the season after his switch from the Gold Coast.
He put a massive hit on Sharks centre Mawene Hiroti, who was taken off shortly after.
The game was played at a frantic pace, with both teams seemingly out on their feet at different stages.
While the NRL bunker ruined the fairytale return for Sebastian Kris last week - denying him a try in his first game back since having all of last year off - they couldn't deny him this week.
He beat two Sharks to charge over, capping off a nice kick and chase that both he and winger Jordan Rapana turned into a goal-line dropout.
With Raiders co-captain Jarrod Croker (shoulder) on the verge of returning, both Kris and Curtis Scott's form will give Canberra coach Ricky Stuart a tough decision at the selection table.
Then Scott's footy smarts gave the Green Machine a late exclamation on their dominant opening 40.
A lovely Townsend grubber for fullback William Kennedy to run onto got the Sharks back in the contest before Dugan pounced after Raiders winger Bailey Simonsson couldn't hang on to a high ball - although there could have been a knock on from the Sharks winger Ronaldo Mulitalo.
Stuart was full of praise for Scott's effort just before the break.
"Huge. In games like this you look at the small moments, such as Curtis's execution there ... certain parts of play turn momentum," Stuart said.
"You always look at those little moments and that's what you value in individuals.
"But it was never going to be an attractive game. It was just a gritty, shitty affair."
AT A GLANCE
CANBERRA RAIDERS 12 (Sebastian Kris, Hudson Young tries; George Williams 2 goals) bt CRONULLA SHARKS 10 (William Kennedy, Josh Dugan tries; Chad Townsend goal) at Kogarah Park. Referee: Chris Sutton. Crowd: 3145.
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