Kalyn Ponga puts knife through Canberra Raiders' hearts as Jack Wighton faces biting allegations

Ponga kicked a penalty goal in the 88^th minute to win it 30-28 at Newcastle on Sunday.

The Knights will now play the New Zealand Warriors in Auckland next Saturday.

But the focus will now switch to Raiders centre Jack Wighton, who will come under scrutiny following biting allegations.

Knights five-eighth Tyson Gamble accused the Canberra star of the act when he tackled him in the second half.

Wighton was also put on report for a high shot on Kalyn Ponga that led to the winning penalty goal.

It'll be his last game in lime green as he'll join South Sydney next year.

James Schiller scored a first-half double as the Green Machine burst out of the blocks.

Knights halfback Jackson Hastings (ankle) came into the game under an injury cloud.

He copped a knock to his leg in the first half and didn't return after half-time with Kurt Mann coming into the halves.

Canberra got off to a solid start, with Hohepa Puru one of the many looking lively.

But unfortunately he copped a Jacob Saifiti hip to the head and his second NRL game was over in under four minutes.

The Knights took advantage of the first penalty of the game to capitalise on a shift to the left with a Bradman Best catch-and-pass to put Greg Marzhew over to open proceedings.

Newcastle must have gone close to losing a player to the sin bin when they gave away two penalties and a six-again on their defensive line, but they managed to defend six consecutive Canberra sets - including holding up Ata Mariota, who went within millimetres of levelling the scores.

Make what you want of Wighton's late-season shift to centre, but it doesn't matter where you put him you know one thing - he's gonna be as physical as he can in defence.

He'd already put on one big hit when Knights centre Dane Gagai looked to do some work out of yardage - only to run into Wighton.

The ball spilled free and James Schiller repaid Stuart's faith in him by scoring in the corner.

Canberra took the crowd out of the game in the first half as they dominated field position and possession, but they almost conceded a try against the run of play when Matt Timoko threw an intercept for Marzhew.

Wighton produced a try-saving tackle on the Newcastle winger before Hudson Young, whose made a name for himself scoring stunning tries against his old club, produced his own try-saver when Gagai looked certain to score.

The Raiders have an inexperienced forward pack following the losses of Josh Papali'i (biceps) and Corey Horsburgh (suspension), but Trey Mooney seized the opportunity to jump for a Ponga short goal-line dropout and barge over from 10 metres out.

Then Schiller popped up again in the dying seconds of the first half as Wighton created space for his winger to finish an early double.

The Raiders took an unlikely 16-6 lead into half-time off the back of 62 per cent possession.

Canberra fullback Jordan Rapana had a monster first-half, running for 151m, setting up a linebreak and making six tackle busts. He finished with 269m.

With Hastings going off at the break, Newcastle literally came out of the sheds a different team.

And the match exploded into life with Gamble's biting allegations.

A minute later and Ponga finished off a Lachlan Fitzgibbon offload to get the home side back in it.

The Knights then went ahead when Ponga produced a break down the right for winger Dominic Young to score.

Then Gagai, after he struggled in the first half, crossed when Ponga sent Young clear again.

And it looked like the comeback was complete when Young scored a length-of-the-field Newcastle try after the ball bounced their way on a Raiders attacking kick.

But when Canberra five-eighth stepped through the Knights defensive line on the fifth tackle there was a glimmer of hope for the underdogs.

Ex-Knight Tom Starling returned to his old club to complete the second comeback of the game thanks to a Joe Tapine offload with less than two minutes remaining.

Such was the momentum swing, the Green Machine almost won it in regulation time but Jamal Fogarty couldn't nail the field goal sending it to extra-time.

Fogarty had a second field-goal attempt charged down in the first five minutes of extra-time, before Ponga iced it with a penalty.

AT A GLANCE

NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS 30 (Dominic Young 2, Greg Marzhew, Kalyn Ponga, Dane Gagai tries; Kalyn Ponga 5 goals) bt CANBERRA RAIDERS 28 (James Schiller 2, Trey Mooney, Matt Frawley, Tom Starling tries; Jamal Fogarty 3 goals) in extra-time at Newcastle. Referee: Ashley Klein.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.