THE Newcastle Knights are alive and kicking in the race for the NRL premiership after a thrilling 30-28 triumph against Canberra in Sunday's do-or-die play-off at McDonald Jones Stadium.
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Newcastle now meet the Warriors in week two of the finals, after extending their winning streak to 10 games - the best in the club's history - in a golden-point cliff hanger.
In a brutal, enthralling contest, the scores were locked 28-all at the end of regulation time, after a game in which the momentum fluctuated wildly.
Knights skipper Kalyn Ponga kicked a penalty in the 89th minute to seal Newcastle's first win in the play-offs since 2013, and first finals victory on home turf since 2006.
Eighth-placed Canberra appeared on track for a major upset when they led the fifth-placed Knights 16-6 at half-time, only for the home team to run in four tries in the space of 15 minutes in the second stanza.
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Just when the sell-out crowd started thinking the Knights were home and hosed, Canberra hit back with tries by five-eighth Matt Frawley and hooker Tom Starling to take the game to extra time.
A memorable contest was marred by a biting allegation levelled at Canberra's champion centre Jack Wighton by Knights five-eighth Tyson Gamble early in the second half.
Gamble showed referee Ashley Klein a mark on his arm, which resulted in Wighton being placed on report and the crowd erupting.
Within minutes, Ponga had crossed to spark a mini-scoring spree that delivered more two tries for winger Dominic Young - his 24th and 25th of the season - and one for centre Dane Gagai.
Newcastle's cause was not helped when playmaker Jackson Hastings, who had missed the previous three games with an ankle problem, aggravated the injury late in the first half and was unable to return after the break.
Hastings would appear at long odds to back up against the Warriors.
The Knights started strongly and scored the opening try in the sixth minute, through winger Greg Marzhew, but as predicted by Newcastle coach Adam O'Brien, Canberra dragged them into a dogfight. The momentum soon shifted and the Raiders started dominating possession and field position.
Canberra were unlucky to be denied a try in the 15th minute, when rookie prop Ata Mariota were ruled to have been held up over the line.
Five minutes later, Gagai coughed up the ball after a scrum win 15 metres out, and the Raiders immediately spun it to winger James Schiller, who scored in the corner.
Halfback Jamal Fogarty converted to lock the scores up.
Clearly rattled, the Knights suffered another blow in the 30th minute when Gagai was ruled to have lost the ball while diving for the line.
Two minutes later, Canberra forward Trey Mooney crashed over after a Newcastle short drop-out went wrong.
Then just seconds before half-time, a Schiller try in the corner, converted by Fogarty, left Newcastle facing a 16-6 deficit at the break.
