Broncos down Raiders in thriller

History repeated when Peter Wallace kicked a golden-point field goal to seal the Broncos' remarkable 25-24 NRL win over Canberra.



It marked the third time at Suncorp Stadium in four years the halfback had potted over the match-winner in extra time.

His heroics ensured the Broncos held out a stirring Raiders' comeback from 24-0 down.

It might be a happy knack for Wallace, but he admitted a field goal had been the last thing on his mind.

"I thought it was the fourth tackle, then I saw the ref put the hand up (indicating five tackles) - it was that last-minute," Wallace said of his 40m effort.

For the record, Wallace had earlier kicked a golden point match-winning field goal at the ground in round three in 2007 (for Penrith) and round one in 2009 (for Brisbane).

"Every kid dreams of winning the game by a field goal," Wallace said. "Luckily for me, it has come off a couple of times."

The Broncos looked home when they led 24-0 early in the second half, before the Raiders scored four tries in nine minutes - including a double to Ruben Wiki clone Josh Papalii.

Then Blake Ferguson coolly slotted his fourth conversion - metres in from the sideline - to lock up the scores.

Without their five Origin stars, the 'baby Broncos' somehow held on to force extra time but looked shaky. Enter new captain Alex Glenn.

He might be the Broncos' youngest skipper at 22, but Glenn looked every inch a leader as he rallied his young troops before the golden-point period.

"That's what he needed to do for us as a leader in the final minutes, keep us composed," Broncos' coach Anthony Griffin said.

It was just the second win in 13 games by the Broncos without their skipper Darren Lockyer.

Even poker-faced Griffin looked relieved. He claimed he didn't feel safe even at 24-0 up.

"No (but) I didn't think they were going to score that quick," he said.

"We almost played the perfect game of football for 65 minutes, then they really put us to the sword. It's hard to stop that momentum when it happens."

It was another game which did nothing for Raiders' coach David Furner's blood pressure.

Last week, Furner watched the Raiders lead 22-0 after 21 minutes, only to be overrun 40-24 by North Queensland. He delivered one of the great halftime sprays on Sunday.

But his mood wouldn't have improved when fullback Josh Hoffman weaved his way through to score and make it 24-0 in the 49th minute.

However, the Raiders finally cracked the Broncos' line when Papalii crashed over in the 64th minute - then all hell broke loose.

Four minutes later, he had another before Glen Buttriss (70th) and Jarrod Croker (73rd) crossed. But their luck ran out in golden point.

"I certainly wasn't happy about our first half - I spoke to the players about it," Furner said.

"They did well to fight their way back into the game, but they just didn't get the points - they are the hardest to take."

Source: EuroSport News