An alleged bite from Canberra Raiders star Jack Wighton has caused plenty of controversy in an all-time classic finals win from the Newcastle Knights on Sunday afternoon at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Wighton was cited by the on-field referee after Knights five-eighth Tyson Gamble pleaded to with what looked to be a bite mark on his arm.
After a thorough review from the bunker, Wighton was placed on report but will likely face further sanctioning from the Match Review Committee.
Jack Wighton has been reported for an alleged bite on Tyson Gamble. 🤔
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Coming into the game as heavy outsiders, very few gave Canberra a chance to come close to a win due to the inconsistent results in the weeks leading up to the finals.
An injury cloud around Kalyn Ponga cleared when the Knights kicked off as the superstar fullback was up to his usual tricks at the back of the park.
Newcastle got off to a dream start in the 5th minute when Greg Marzhew opened the scoring for the hosts.
The early lead wasn’t a true reflection on the even opening stages of the game, but the Raiders were rewarded in the 18th minute when James Schiller levelled the score.
Canberra went into the halftime break with a ten point lead courtesy of Trey Mooney but the biggest talking point of the first half was an injury to Jackson Hastings that ruled him out for the final 40 minutes.
The second half produced one of the most exhilarating periods of finals football in recent memory with the Knights dominating the majority of it before letting a late lead slip.
Tries from Ponga and Dane Gagai, combined with a double from Dom Young saw the Knights extend to as high as 12 with 15 minutes to go but it was to be short-lived for the hosts.
Matt Frawley’s try moments later gave the Raiders hope but it wasn’t until the final minutes of the game when Tom Starling would cross over to level the game up.
With the game destined to head to golden point, Raiders’ half Jamal Fogarty had a field goal attempt charged down, which would be the final play of regular time.
The game-sealing moment cam in the 88th minute when Kalyn Ponga slotted a penalty goal from close range.
Newcastle will move onto another elimination final next week when they head to New Zealand to face the Warriors on Saturday night.