The Raiders had practised field goal scenarios all week at training in the lead up to Friday night’s “Miracle in Mudgee” – and on one occasion Jed Stuart found himself pouncing on a ball that fired back off an upright.
Little did Stuart know he was going to be faced with that exact scenario on Friday as the winger and two Raiders teammates combined for a stunning 95-metre golden-point match-winning try.
It was the kind of gritty performance that proved to the doubters the Green Machine can go all the way this year.
“We’ve known since the start of the year we can win it – why can’t we win it?” Ethan Strange asked after the match.
Stuart, Strange and try-scorer Kaeo Weekes sat down in the dressing room with this masthead to try to make sense of one of the craziest finishes in NRL history.
Panthers superstar Nathan Cleary lined up a shot at field goal from outside 30m in the 84th minute, only to see the ball slam into the left upright.
Jed Stuart is on the spot to take Nathan Cleary’s field goal attempt after it slammed into an upright.Credit: Fox Sports
Stuart passed to Strange who passed to Kaeo Weekes before the party started in the middle of Glen Willow Sporting Complex.
The 24-year-old son of coach Ricky Stuart said he knew exactly what to do when he caught the ball.
“One come off the upright at training during the week and I came infield and caught it,” Stuart said.
“I thought in case that happens again, I’ll come infield again. And it happened. I watched the ball travel through the air and thought to myself, he [Cleary] doesn’t miss too often from there.
Ethan Strange steps off the left to get past Nathan Cleary.Credit: Fox Sports
“As I caught it, I’m not sure if the two Panthers players [Izack Tago and Liam Martin] were trying to catch the ball, or they didn’t want to tackle me in the air.
“I then looked up and thought, I’ll give the ball to the ‘talent’ [Strange] and see what happens. I started watching him fending off players and keep going. I pushed as hard as I could upfield, but I was gassed.”
Strange stepped off his left foot and got past Cleary, then put on a goose step and motored around fullback Dylan Edwards before scorching down the left touchline.
“Stuff normally happens around Jed – he’s done some pretty cool stuff the last couple of weeks, and whenever he gets the ball, I try to stay alive,” Strange said.
Ethan Strange charges down field in golden point in Mudgee.Credit: NRL Images
“Lucky he got it to me. I thought I was about to go the whole way, but I could see Tom Jenkins in my peripheral [vision]. I looked over and saw Kaeo cruising in first gear and not even breaking into a sweat, so I thought, here you go Weekesy.”
Weekes had tried to charge down Cleary’s field goal, turned and started saying to himself, “Please miss, please miss”.
Then when Stuart and Strange combined, Weekes knew he had to push up in support in case his five-eighth ran out of steam.
“I saw the cover defence coming across and ran down field,” Weekes said.
Kaeo Weekes scores the match-winner.Credit: NRL Photos
“I thought Strangey would go all the way, but Jenkins is fast. He threw the ball and it hit me on the chest. He had done all the hard yards. I could see someone behind me to my right [Blaize Talagi], but I was able to get over.”
The 20-16 victory secured a home qualifying final at GIO Stadium, which could mean the Raiders do not leave Canberra for a month through September if they can win in week one of the finals.
Defeat against the four-time premiers would have reignited debate about how seriously we should take the Raiders as premiership contenders. It is a narrative coach Ricky Stuart is happy to keep ramming home to his players each week.
But they have a young team that is happy to stand up in the big moments, just as they did in the NSW central west.
The Panthers will finish in the bottom half of the eight, but co-captain Isaah Yeo was not too worried it had been 30 years since a team came from outside the top four to win the premiership.
“Someone has to do it; it might as well be us,” Yeo said. “A bit like last week, we let a side back into the game in the second half, and you just can’t do that against the top teams. [But] I don’t think we should lose any confidence out of it.”
NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now