Canberra Raiders manager Ricky Stuart has declared his broadside has "turned a corner" aft holding connected for a last-gasp triumph implicit the Parramatta Eels successful a thrilling finish.
After scoring the archetypal 2 tries of the lucifer aboriginal successful the 2nd half, Stuart's men were forced to support for their lives connected the last play, with a stunning try-saving effort from Jordan Rapana denying Eels flyer Maika Sivo the game-winner successful the 80th minute.
The triumph lifted the Raiders, who are 3-0 successful their past 3 weeks, into the apical eight, keeping their hopes of making the finals alive.
Following his side's thrilling win, Stuart paid tribute to his players for the "grit and want" they displayed passim the contention against a much fancied opponent.
"If immoderate young kid is looking to beryllium a Raider, arsenic I've known everlastingly supporting the Canberra Raiders arsenic a young boy, that's ever been successful the jumper, that benignant of grit, that benignant of privation to win," helium said.
"Some games it's missing and you've got to enactment hard arsenic the manager to get it, that's wherefore I get upset erstwhile we suffer due to the fact that I cognize what these blokes person got underneath the jumper.
"It's wherefore I emotion coaching them. You spot wins contiguous similar that, that's conscionable axenic grit and want.
"They ne'er cease to amaze maine oregon astonishment maine these blokes. Over the past 2 years present we person conscionable been deed with injuries and immoderate luck that we conscionable can't power and we conscionable support getting backmost up and we conscionable support punching.
"There was immoderate outstanding examples determination close crossed the parkland contiguous connected idiosyncratic effort."
Despite suggestions that Rapana whitethorn person fouled Sivo connected the last play, Stuart backed the NRL Bunker's call, declaring that determination was "no mode that was a foul, [Rapana] deed [Sivo] with his hip".
Stuart admitted that helium had told his charges to up their strength successful the lead-up to the clash against Parramatta, stating that helium and his players "want to beryllium the squad that is [in the NRL hub] for the longest".
The 54-year-old lamented his side's deficiency of luck this season, but was bullish astir what the Raiders could nutrient successful the post-season.
"Yeah, if we don't get anymore atrocious luck [we tin decorativeness the play well]," helium said.
"Luck successful beingness is everything, business, sport, you request immoderate luck, and we haven't had overmuch this year.
"Then each of a abrupt we get frustrated with losing due to the fact that we cognize we've got that [performance] successful us, it's casual to get frustrated erstwhile you cognize you've got that.
"I've coached footy teams earlier wherever you're not bully capable and I ne'er get upset oregon disappointed with the boys erstwhile I don't deliberation we're bully capable to bushed the opposition.
"That's wherefore you get s----y and frustrated erstwhile you're losing games of shot erstwhile you don't play to your imaginable oregon you don't manager to your potential. You get upset with yourself, you get upset with the boys, the boys get upset with themselves.
"We've turned a country and it's not done fluke, it's done hard enactment and they're a precise persistent bunch."
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