Broncos escape Canberra comeback12 June 2011, 4:12 pmA young Broncos side showed both their promise and fragility before sneaking home to a 25-24 golden-point victory over the Raiders at Lang Park on Sunday.
Experienced half-back Peter Wallace stood tall in the first period of extra time to land the winning field goal from 40 metres out after his side had thrown away a 24-0 lead with just over 15 minutes remaining.
Tries to captain Alex Glenn, Dale Copley and Gerard Beale in the first half followed by a Josh Hoffman four-pointer nine minutes after the break had the weakened Broncos on a fast-track to a valuable victory.
But Canberra dug deep and launched an amazing comeback, scoring four tries in the space of nine frenetic minutes to remarkably lock the scores at 24-24.
Josh Papalii came of the bench to score two of those while Glen Buttriss and Jarrod Croker crossed to lift the Raiders from certain defeat.
During the Raiders' period of dominance, the Broncos did not touch the ball for an astonishing 15 minutes.
After a pair of failed attempts by Corey Norman, Wallace took over the field goal duties in golden point and did not let his side down with a sweetly-hit one-pointer to win the match.
The Broncos now have a four-point buffer from sixth spot while Canberra is dead last.
Broncos: 25 (A Glenn, D Copley, G Beale, J Hoffman tries; P Wallace 3 conversions; penalty; field goal)
Raiders: 24 (J Papalii 2, G Butriss, J Croker tries; B Ferguson 4 conversions)
Source: Tag: Rugby League - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Topic: Broncos escape Canberra comeback
