They were the touching moments that made the night complete.
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There'd already been the perfect Canberra Raiders start, the drama of going not just one but two players down and then the stirring fightback for another gutsy Green Machine win in front of the 1994 premiership heroes.
But a few minutes in the Raiders' change rooms made it even more special.
With all the '94 players taking their 30-year reunion into the sheds, there was a minute's silence for Quentin Pongia - the Raiders prop from that team who died of cancer five years ago.
Then his fellow Kiwis performed a haka in his honour to cap off an emotional night for the Green Machine.
"It was lovely having our '94 boys in there ... it's a special night tonight," Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said.
"It was a lovely sign of respect for Quentin Pongia with a minute's silence and then our Kiwi boys did a haka.
"It's always very moving - I love the passion they put into their haka.
"It's probably something that replicated the passion and emotion of the game tonight."
That passion and emotion saw the Green Machine come back from having two players sent to the sin bin, which meant they spent about six minutes with just 11 players on the field.
While they conceded 14 points when they were players short, they managed to turn things around once they returned to full strength.
Their young halves - Kaeo Weekes and Ethan Strange - played a large part in that, with the latter sending Hudson Young over twice to get the Raiders back in front.
It was the playmakers' defence which drew special praise from their coach, who was also asked about the guts of the fightback.
Stuart said he wasn't just paying lip service when he said it was part of the Canberra way.
He said that played a large part in his desire to sign a long-term deal to extend his time with the club during the week - which would mean he'd spent at least 16 years as Raiders coach by the time it finished.
"I think a lot of you think when I talk about our DNA and our character I think you sometimes think I just have to say things to make it sound pretty," Stuart said.
"But I wouldn't paint a beautiful picture if it wasn't there. That's the DNA of this club."
Young will be in the NSW Blues mix as the State of Origin period starts to draw near.
He made his Blues debut last season and has had a strong start to the 2024 campaign.
The 25-year-old has scored six tries this season - including the match winner against Manly a fortnight ago.
He'll be in the mix when NSW coach Michael Maguire picks his squad for game one at Homebush on June 5.
"I think Hudson played an Origin-style of game tonight," Stuart said.
"But Madge has got a big job to do. The hardest part about coaching international and Origin teams is picking the right team."
When asked whether he was worried about potentially losing his two front-row enforcers - both Joe Tapine and Josh Papali'i were put on report - Stuart simply likened Papali'i's tackle to one Viliame Kikau did on Nick Cotric.
Tapine was put on report for a high shot on Kikau, while Papali'i was also sin binned for a hip-drop tackle on Kikiau.
The officials completely missed Kikau's hip-drop tackle on Cotric.
"It was as bad as the one where Nicky nearly broke his leg on. Why wasn't that picked up?" Stuart asked.
Undermanned Raiders somehow beat Bulldogs to do class of '94 proud
If the Canberra Raiders' 1994 premiership reunion wasn't a party already, it certainly is now.
With 13 Raiders on the park, the Canterbury Bulldogs were never a chance.
The problem for the Green Machine was keeping all 13 on there.
They had Jordan Rapana and Josh Papali'i sent to the sin bin, spending six minutes with just 11 on the field.
With the full 13, the Raiders won it 24-6. When they were short, the Bulldogs had it 14-0.
But that adds up to a 24-20 victory at Lang Park for the Raiders, with their '94 premiership heroes watching on from the stands.
Hudson Young scored a brace in a performance that will do his NSW Blues Origin aspirations no damage, consigning the Bulldogs to their ninth straight loss to the Raiders.
Ethan Strange also continued his emergence towards being an NRL star with his excellent defence adding to the two tries he laid on for Young.
It also meant Canterbury were yet to win during Magic Round.
But the Raiders will be praying for some luck from the match review committee with three players put on report - Joe Tapine, Danny Levi and Josh Papali'i.
Tapine was put on report for a high shot on Viliame Kikau, Levi for a trip on Drew Hutchison and Papali'i for a hip-drop tackle on Kikau.
Kikau somehow escaped the officials' attention for a potential hip-drop of his own on Nick Cotric, but Kurt Mann was put on report for a high shot on Elliott Whitehead - who was again excellent for the Green Machine.
While Papali'i's tackle had all the hallmarks of a hip-drop, the NRL have said that you have to make contact with the opposition player's leg for it to be one - and Papali'i didn't appear to.
Yes, he contributed to Kaeo Weekes doing that, Papali'i himself did not - despite getting sent to the sin bin as well.
The Bulldogs gifted the Green Machine the perfect start with fullback Connor Tracey fumbling a Weekes kick for Xavier Savage to score.
Then Jacob Kiraz handed possession to Sebastian Kris to double the Raiders' lead.
After a strong start, where Jordan Rapana brought all his 34 years of enthusiasm to finish the game 177 run metres, things then started to go wrong for the Canberra fullback.
A fresh-air swing allowed Jacob Preston to get the Bulldogs on the board and then he was sin binned for a blatant professional foul on Josh Addo-Carr. The Dogs took less than a minute to take advantage with Stephen Crichton going straight over.
It started a horror 14 minutes for the Raiders as they also went down to 11 men when Papali'i was sin-binned as well.
Matt Burton made it 14-12 at half-time, before Kiraz got on the end of a nice Crichton tip-on for a 14-point swing since the Raiders started to lose players.
But, with 13 on the field, the Raiders were a different beast.
Once Rapana and Papali'i were back, Strange put Young through a hole not once, but twice, to turn the game back around - the second of which was off a Weekes break in the 59th minute. From there they held on grimly.
AT A GLANCE
CANBERRA RAIDERS 24 (Hudson Young 2, Xavier Savage, Sebastian Kris tries; Jordan Rapana 4 goals) bt CANTERBURY BULLDOGS 20 (Jacob Preston, Stephen Crichton, Matt Burton, Jacob Kiraz tries; Burton 2 goals) at Lang Park. Referee: Ashley Klein.