Eight weeks ago Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart heard the calls for him to drop fullback Jack Wighton, but he never lost belief and is getting payback in spades, with the 23-year-old producing a brilliant two-try effort to put them on the verge of the top four.
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Raiders pounce on Origin depleted Cowboys
Canberra has made the most of North Queensland missing their Origin stars, winning 26-12. The Raiders consolidate their spot in the top 8.
Canberra sits one point off third spot after it held off a determined North Queensland Cowboys to win 26-12 at Canberra Stadium on Monday.
The Raiders have now won six of their last seven games and Stuart will give them a week off over the bye to rest up and get ready for the round 20 clash against the New Zealand Warriors.
Wighton injected himself into the attack, repeatedly raiding the Cowboys' edges, but he also showed his defensive strength with some thumping, last-man tackles.
He scored the opening try through some individual brilliance two beat a couple of tackles on the left edge and almost scored a replica in the second half to give the Raiders some breathing space when the game was on the line.
The conversion from his first one gave his captain Jarrod Croker his 1300th NRL point.
Stuart praised his young side, which he said was "growing as a football team" and "learning how to win".
"Considering eight weeks ago so many people wanted me to drop Jack, get rid of Jack, people sit back and laugh now and say, 'No that's not the case', but it was and that's what you get when you show a little bit of confidence and patience in a person and belief," Stuart said.
"And he's got that not just with me, he's got that with our whole club and our whole squad. Jack Wighton's different to a lot of other fullbacks and that's why I love Jack Wighton in my team."
The Cowboys showed why they're the reigning premiers and refused to go away, despite missing six of their Origin stars.
Second-rower Coen Hess showed his athleticism to fly high for a perfectly-weighted Lachlan Coote cross-field kick to level the scores at one-try apiece after 10 minutes.
Raiders props Shannon Boyd and Junior Paulo churned up the metres in the opening exchanges, and workhorse Shaun Fensom was also intent on adding some hit-ups to his tireless defence.
Cowboys lock Jason Taumalolo provided a similar impetus for the visitors.
Raiders halfback Aidan Sezer had his kicking boots on and a worm-burner on the dewy surface hit the post and bounced into hooker Josh Hodgson's arms to give the home side a 12-6 lead.
From there the tide started to turn and the Cowboys dominated the rest of the first half, but they couldn't make it count on the scoreboard.
They crossed early after the break, with Bungendore's Josh Chudleigh scoring a brilliant try on debut against the club he played for as a junior, tearing away from the play-the-ball straight through the Raiders' line to make it a two-point game.
But that seemed to sting the Raiders into life with Wighton scoring his second and producing another try-saving tackle, almost cutting Cowboys hooker Jake Granville in half.
The game was in the balance until Canberra managed to hold the visitors out for three straight sets, with Ray Thompson losing the ball as he attacked the line on the final tackle.
Sezer then produced a lovely step to score the sealer that has put the Raiders within touching distance of the top four — a position Cowboys coach Paul Green felt Canberra were worthy of.
"They're a genuine team, they played well, they controlled the game well, their halves stepped up when they needed to, they've got a big forward pack. They've improved with some recruitment purchases through the year, too. Paulo has added to them so they're definitely contenders," Green said.
The Raiders lost prop Paul Vaughan to concussion. He will be assessed during the week, as will Cowboys forward Ben Hannant who hurt his shoulder, head and wrist all in the one tackle.
CANBERRA RAIDERS 26 (Jack Wighton 2, Josh Hodgson, Aidan Sezer tries; Jarrod Croker 5 goals) bt NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 12 (Coen Hess, Josh Chudleigh tries; Ethan Lowe 2 goals) at Canberra Stadium on Monday night. Crowd: 8328. Referees: Grant Atkins, Alan Shortall.
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