NRL: Canberra Raiders Jamal Fogarty sends anti-racism message for his kids

It was more than just sticking up for a teammate. Jamal Fogarty wanted to send a message to his kids - and everyone else - that racism is not OK. The Canberra Raiders halfback was quick to stand up for his halves partner Jack Wighton, who was racially abused on social media last week. As a proud Mununjali man, he took exception to the disgusting comments. Both Wighton and Fogarty put the vile abuse behind them to play starring roles in the Raiders' golden-point victory over the Redcliffe Dolphins in Wagga Wagga on Saturday. Fogarty kicked the match-winning field goal - the first of his NRL career. Before he slotted the one-pointer in extra-time, none of the Raiders players on the field had kicked a field goal in the NRL. Fogarty looks up to Wighton like an older brother. The pair and their families have become close since the halfback joined the Raiders from the Gold Coast Titans. He said NRL players were always open to criticism - but not racism. "As rugby league players when we play poorly people can have their opinion on that, but whether we play good or we play bad there's no room for racism," Fogarty said. "And Jacko's too nice of a bloke to bring that to the forefront. "So I'm just sticking up for Jacko. But then it's also about showing my kids, nephews and nieces, and all the other kids and people out there that's it not OK to be racially abused. "It's 2023 - we should be moving on from that. But obviously there's people out there that feel like they can have their say. "That was one behaviour I won't accept for the rest of my life and that's why I tried to take a stance on it." Fogarty slotted the first field goal of his 63-game career. He'd already had a shot - towards the end of regulation time - but couldn't convert. And Raiders coach Ricky Stuart was left lamenting another set on the Dolphins' tryline where the Green Machine didn't even look to have a shot. But he sold a dummy and made a nice right-foot step before drilling the one-pointer in the 84th minute. "Obviously pretty cool. You see all the big dogs in other teams step up and ice those moments," Fogarty said. "A little bit frantic down there at the back end of the half - I obviously shanked that. It wasn't a nice drop, there was a fair bit of heat. "I realised I need a quick play-the-ball, make sure if I do come back off my right there's no one coming. "Just very happy to let it go through the middle." MORE CANBERRA RAIDERS NEWS The Raiders take a three-game winning streak into Magic Round, where they'll face the Canterbury Bulldogs at Lang Park on Friday night. It's seen them climb up to 11th on the NRL ladder and within four points of top spot. Fogarty said now they needed to keep their momentum going. They've won their past six games against the Bulldogs - including a previous Magic Round encounter at Lang Park in 2021. Fogarty felt they'd improved since their round-two loss to the Dolphins in Brisbane. "We're a different team to what we were back then. It was just good to get the two points," he said. "We're a team that just needs to win games. It's that simple for us. Whether we win by 40 or we win by one, we just need to win games. "We've got to make sure we enjoy [the win] and get back to work early next week because at the moment we're a little bit inconsistent with our performances. "We've still got to work hard - I let in two soft tries for them in the second half and that's not who we are." NRL ROUND 10 Friday: Canberra Raiders v Canterbury Bulldogs at Lang Park, 6pm. We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.