Canberra's three-month wait for a win on home soil is over.
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Jamal Fogarty's perfect night from the tee saw the Raiders snap a four-game losing streak with a 20-18 win over the New Zealand Warriors in front of 8509 at Canberra Stadium on Friday night.
The Raiders hadn't won at home since April. They hadn't won a game in almost seven weeks. The punters clad in puffer jackets and beanies figured this one might end the drought as the Raiders skipped out to a 14-0 lead.
But those fans know things don't often come easy around here - so of course this one went down to the wire, with Fogarty's goal-kicking record of four from four proving the difference, with the Warriors managing just one conversion from four attempts.
Raiders halfback Fogarty commanded plenty of column inches before his return from a three-month layoff - and some among the Warriors' back three can tell you why.
Warriors fullback Taine Tuaupiki and winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak both spilled Fogarty bombs, and the Raiders made them pay with points on both occasions.
Tuaupiki was first in the firing line. The 24-year-old dropped a Fogarty bomb before Hudson Young - making his own return after missing a last-start loss to Newcastle - opened the scoring in the ensuing set, and he wasn't stopping there.
Young busted through the Warriors' line to score his second soon after - and again the Raiders halfback had his fingerprints all over it, because it was Fogarty delivering the last pass.
Sure, the Raiders halfback didn't have it all his own way. A 40-20 attempt grazed the touchline on the full, but hey, even Michael Jordan had off nights.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck scored the Warriors' first late in the opening half but with the hosts still leading 14-6, things were looking a little more rosy than they did during the Warriors' last trip to the capital, when Shaun Johnson and co turned Jarrod Croker's 300th game into a nightmare.
A Warriors side inspired by Tuivasa-Sheck's move to fullback looked a far more threatening beast on the other side of the break - and it was Kurt Capewell, just two days removed from a brutal State of Origin decider, who struck first in the second half.
Plenty will tell you it's easier to back up from an Origin game two days after than perhaps three or four. Maybe it's the adrenaline still racing through the body. Maybe it's the high of a series victory.
So it was little surprise Mitch Barnett was throwing himself into everything from barnstorming runs to fifth-tackle kicks just 48 hours after helping the Blues to their first series-deciding win in Brisbane since 2005. Barnett charged over for the Warriors' third to level the scores at 14-apiece.
Xavier Savage stole the lead back soon after. Addin Fonua-Blake hit straight back, but Chanel Harris-Tavita's conversion went wide to leave the Raiders ahead by two.
The Raiders are still in the hunt for a third consecutive finals appearance - but then again, the finals aspirations of the majority of teams in the competition still have a pulse. Some are fading faster than others, but those Raiders might just be starting their run.
AT A GLANCE
NRL round 20: CANBERRA RAIDERS 20 (Hudson Young 2, Xavier Savage tries; Jamal Fogarty 4 goals) bt NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS 18 (Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Kurt Capewell, Mitch Barnett, Addin Fonua-Blake tries; Adam Pompey goal) at Canberra Stadium.