Newcastle Knights have scored 24 unanswered points to storm home and beat the Canberra Raiders 24-16 at McDonalds Park in Wagga Wagga.
Both sides came into the contest out of form with the Raiders having suffered four straight defeats while the Knights had lost their previous two.
Canberra also had to deal with Josh Hodgson stepping down as captain and Joe Tapine's wife blasting coach Ricky Stuart during the week for not giving the Kiwis international more playing time.
The home side made a hot start with Tapine scoring his side's first try after two George Williams penalty goals saw them race out to a 10-0 lead.
The Raiders struck again just a minute before halftime when wing Bailey Simonsson finished in the corner after a brilliant Williams cut-out pass over the top of the Knights' defence to see Canberra take a 16-0 into the sheds.
But the Raiders' second-half woes continued as the Knights came out and dominated the second stanza.
Lock Connor Watson sniped from dummy half before delivering a perfect short ball to see halfback Phoenix Crossland grab his side's first points.
The fleet-footed Knights fullback Kaylan Ponga used his speed to see him grab his side's second of the evening before they hit the front for the first time when forward Tyson Frizell muscled his way over.
A late try to Newcastle hooker Jayden Brailey saw the Knights score 24 unanswered points that mean the Raiders have conceded 93 points to eight over the past five rounds.
The win sees the Knights jump up into eighth place while the Raiders' losing streak stretches to five matches and they fall to 11th place.
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