NZ Warriors veteran Shaun Johnson has nailed his second gamewinning field goal of the NRL season to elevate his side to an unlikely 21-20 victory over Canberra Raiders at Redcliffe.
After their record 70-10 defeat to Melbourne Storm on Anzac Day, the Auckland side were desperate to bounce back, but seemed intent on finding ways to gift-wrap this contest for their rivals.
Scoring two tries in the opening half, the Warriors dropped the ball on each of the subsequent kickoffs, allowing the Raiders to strike back immediately and nullify any gains.
Trailling 20-12 at halftime, they squandered chance after chance to eat into the deficit, but significantly, so did Canberra.
After conceding 52 points in 40 minutes to the Storm five days earlier, the Warriors somehow kept the Raiders scoreless for the entire second half, as they struggled to take full toll of the opportunities coming their way.
With 15 minutes remaining, newcomer Daejarn Asi put second-rower Euan Aitken through for a try that cut the margin to just two points and moments later, Johnson seemed to cross for a go-ahead try, but had it disallowed for obstruction on the Radiers defence.
As the final moments ticked down, the Warriors surged towards the posts again, drawing a penalty for a high tackle on prop Matt Lodge, and fullback Reece Walsh made no mistake with the kick to level scores and the game entered extra time.
Canberra won the toss and received the ball first, but Corey Horsburgh lost possession deep inside his own half, gifting the Warriors a perfect opening to snatch the winning points.
They needed no second invitation, with Lodge driving powerfully towards the posts and Johnson dodging Horsburgh's despairing dive to slot the field goal.
None of this looked possible in the first half, when Canberra jumped out to an early eight-point lead. When Johnson put up a high kick to fullback Jordan Rapana and his loose pass was spilled, the Warriors shifted left, where Adam Pompey crossed in the corner.
But from the restart, captain Addin Fonua-Blake dropped the ball on first tackle and Raiders second-rower Hudson Young scored from the resulting possession.
Asi was impressive on Warriors debut, after joining the club midweek and jumping into the starting line-up through an injury to Chanel Harris-Tavita. He created the second try, kicking ahead for winger Viliami Vailea to score, when the bounce cruelly eluded Rapana.
This time, forward Eliesa Katoa coughed up the ball early in the tackle count and Raiders captain Jack Wighton sliced through the defence to score.
But the second half deteriorated into a contest where Canberra were dragged down to the Warriors level and paid the penalty - as they often have in recent years. Remember Johnson's back-to-back field goals to rally from 19-6 down in 2016?
Remember the dodgy forward-pass non-call that helped the Warriors back from 31-10 down to victory last year?
The result - Canberra's fifth straight loss - puts the Warriors just outside the competition's top eight with an atrocious points differential and they will need to be much better next Sunday against high-flying Cronulla Sharks.
Warriors 21 (Pompey, Aitken & Vailea tries, Walsh 3 conversions & penalty, Johnson field goal) Raiders 20 (Timoko, Wighton & Young tries, Schneider 3 conversions & penalty)
