The Raiders needed to win both of their remaining games and have a raft of other results go their way to have any chance of featuring in the finals.
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They defended like men possessed early on and then let their attack do the talking in an emphatic 46-28 win at Canberra Stadium on Friday night.
But there was little time for celebration, with Canberra's attention turning to the North Queensland Cowboys' clash with the Wests Tigers immediately after the full-time siren.
The Green Machine have ticked off the first objective and now they're preparing for an agonising wait until the top eight is set in stone.
But they'll be hoping a few late consolation tries don't come back to bite them if eighth place is decided on points differential.
Raiders finish with biggest crowd average in 14 years
The crowds flocked to Canberra Stadium at the start of the season hoping to see Ricky Stuart's Raiders deliver a drought-breaking premiership.
What followed was somewhat unexpected, with the Raiders slipping out of finals contention and finishing the season as a mathematical chance to play finals football.
But the Green Machine's off-field resurgence continued all season long and the club finished with its highest average home crowd since 2003.
The Raiders have bucked the trend of the NRL decreasing crowds, boasting an average of 14,097 this season, but not even that could add value to the NRL's 6pm Friday timeslot.
The NRL's decision to play matches at 6pm on a Friday evening has raised plenty of eyebrows and rugby league fans everywhere will be praying the experiment is short-lived.
Newcastle no longer the bogey team
Canberra forward Josh Papalii admitted the Raiders have been guilty of taking Newcastle lightly in the past and the results speak for themselves.
The Knights are on track for a third straight wooden spoon but they beat the Raiders earlier this year and took them to golden point twice last season.
Recent history suggests the Knights should have arrived in Canberra full of confidence - but the Raiders have ended their Newcastle torment in a big way.
Jordan Rapana joins elite company
The only man to score 20 tries more than once in a season for the Raiders is premiership-winning winger Noa Nadruku. That is, until Friday night.
A Jordan Rapana hat-trick ensured that elusive club's membership numbers doubled as he moved to 20 tries for the season.
Rapana scored a club record 23 tries last season and the New Zealand international is starting to build a case to become the club' greatest ever winger.
Knights honour Hannah Rye
They were no chance of playing finals and were only a puncher's chance of avoiding the wooden spoon but the Knights still had plenty to play for.
Hannah lost her battle with a rare form of Ewing sarcoma during the week and the Knights honoured her by wearing black armbands.
