2006 Round 11 vs Canberra Raiders:
Newcastle 22 defeated Canberra 12.
A hat-trick to Brian Carney, some astounding goal-kicking by Andrew Johns, and a terrible refereeing decision were the main talking points, as Newcastle downed a committed Canberra outfit 22-12 in atrocious conditions at EnergyAustralia Stadium.
Canberra, seeking revenge for their 70-32 demolishment at the hands of Newcastle in round 2, made the perfect start in the 6th minute when Michael Hodgson crossed. Lincoln Withers put Todd Carney into a huge gap from 30 metres out, and Carney was able to link up with Hodgson who crossed under the posts. The conversion made the score 6-0.
Newcastle applied plenty of pressure for the next 20 minutes, but Canberra's defence held solid until the 27th minute. Newcastle found space down the Raider's right hand side, and it was Kurt Gidley who threw a long looping pass to Brian Carney, who crossed in the corner. Unfortunately the pass by Gidley was 5 metres forward, but in a stunning miss, the touch judge and referee both failed to notice. Andrew Johns slotted the sideline conversion to level the scores.
Four minutes later Carney was in again, this time the recipient of a trademark Matthew Gidley flick pass from 5 metres out. Andrew Johns calmly added the two points from the sideline again, and Newcastle hit the showers with a 12-6 lead.
Canberra took just 10 minutes to tie the scores up in the second half. On the last tackle of a set inside the Knight's 20, they elected to spread the ball, and Matthew Gidley - caught between coming in and racing up to stop the pass - was trapped in no-man's land, and Phil Graham crossed without a hand being laid on him. The conversion, again from in front for Schifcofske, made it 12 all.
Newcastle didn't take long to hit back, and it was Brian Carney who completed his hat-trick to break the deadlock. After good runs by Johns and replacement hooker Riley Brown, the ball went though the Knights playmakers - Johns, Mullen and Kurt Gidley - before Matthew Gidley threw the last pass. The ball had traveled from one sideline to the other, and Brian Carney found the necessary space to score. As Andrew Johns lined up the conversion a long-threatened storm finally erupted into life, and in the driving rain he added 2 more points - in one of the best conversions likely to be kicked in the NRL this season!
Newcastle completed the scoring in the 64th minute with a quick spread to the right, for a change, this time Chris Bailey playing his second game showed excellent hands to bat a pass to Brad Tighe, who crossed in the downpour. Tighe was replacing the injured Anthony Quinn, and playing his first first-grade game of the year, after being 2005's top tryscorer. Andrew Johns proved he was mortal by missing the conversion, leaving the final score 22-12.
Canberra withstood plenty of pressure throughout the game in defence, with Newcastle forcing 9 line drop-outs of the A.C.T.-based side. The Raiders would be happy with only conceding 22 points, but would have felt they may have been a chance of winning had Carney's first try been ruled forward.
Newcastle clearly missed origin representatives Danny Buderus and Steve Simpson, but would be happy at again sneaking a close win. Brad Tighe had a great first game in the top grade, while Jarrod Mullen was strong at five eighth, where he has considerable game-time after David Seage departed early with a hamstring injury - forcing Kurt Gidley to fullback.
What they said:
Brian Carney:
"I'm contracted to the Gold Coast for 2007 and I'll be honouring that contract. I want to win a competition here and leave on that note."
"It's a tremendous set up, it's everything I was told it would be. The people are tremendous and I can't thank the fellas enough for making me feel welcome."
Kurt Gidley:
"[On the forward pass] Let's just call it line ball, eh?"
Michael Hagan:
"It was a great effort on the back of the week that we had, and a couple of injuries in the game made it a bit more difficult, but I think the players responded and toughed it out real well."
"[On David Seage's hamstring injury] I'm not sure how serious that is. He just felt it go, so I guess we'll get the necessary scans done."
Matthew Elliott:
"[On the forward pass] There were only three people in the stadium who didn't think that was forward and they were the people who counted."
"That was nowhere near a marginal call - it was forward out of the hand and kept going forward. The crowd in that corner were laughing."
"They then scored from the next set, so in effect it was a 12-point play. That was pretty disappointing."