Ignoring the pain of an injured shoulder Paul Gallen has scored a 77th minute try off a clever Corey Hughes inside pass to inspire the Sharks to a come-from-behind 24-22 victory over the Raiders.

The try, Gallen’s second of the afternoon, prompted similar celebrations to the previous two weeks for the Sharks who have now won three games in a row and five in succession in matches played at Canberra Stadium.

Following the win coach Ricky Stuart again praised the courage of his team for twice coming back from 10-point deficits, while at the same time lamenting their inability to control the football in what was something of a mistake riddled first half.

Stuart also reserved special mention for Gallen, who was severely hampered by a badly bruised shoulder, while he was also quick to push the claims of skipper Trent Barrett, who with his performance against NSW Origin rival Terry Campese has now become a genuine contender for a place in the second State of Origin match.

“Origin needs tough players and Trent is one of those players,” Stuart said. “We’d love to have him next week but I want my players to be picked to play rep football and I hope he gets the call up for NSW.”

The match began with the Raiders opening their account just five minutes in, Campese slicing through some ordinary Sharks defence before finding Tom Learod-Lahrs in support, with the solidly built back rower running 15-metes to score. Campese converted from close range and the Raiders led 6-0.

It didn’t take long for Canberra to put more points on the board, this time through Joel Monahan, the representative centre outjumping the Sharks defence to plant the ball down out wide and put his team ahead 10-0.

From the ensuing kickoff, the Raiders dropped the ball, literally, to invite the Sharks back into the contest.

Canberra halfback Mark Herbert made a mess of a deep Luke Covell kick, giving the ball to the Sharks only five metres out from the line. Only four tackles later young Sharks fullback sensation Nathan Stapleton continued his dream run in the top grade by accelerating through a small gap in the defensive line before crashing over in the south-western corner.

Covell was successful with his conversion attempt from wide out and the Sharks had given their travelling band of supporters something to get excited about.

The Sharks stayed on the front foot with a Barrett 40-20 putting his team back into an attacking zone. Again they capitalised on their positive field position, Barrett going to the line before finding a willing supporter in Gallen with a one-handed off-load. Covell pulled his relatively simple attempt a goal to the right of the posts but with seven minutes of the first half remaining the scores were locked at 10-apiece.

In another momentum switch an uncharacteristic handling error from Gallen put the Raiders back on the attack and it was Canberra who would retake the lead, Bronson Harrison crossing out wide to send his team to the half time break with a 14-10 advantage.

Some ad-lib play from the Raiders saw them extend the lead only three minutes into the second half, with Jarrod Croker scoring after a David Milne break. This time Campese was on target and Canberra would lead 20-10.

The Sharks however continued to fight, Stapleton making a 70-metre dash downfield only for the movement to break down a metre out from the try line, before a quick exchange of passes saw Matt Wright score to bring his team back to within a converted try of their opponents.

Then with 20 minutes remaining the Sharks levelled the scores once again, this time at 20-all following some spectacular Sharks play which resulted in a Ben Pomeroy try. A Scott Porter chip kick bounced on its point and into the arms of Covell, the Sharks winger off-loading to Wright, before the young centre sent Pomeroy on a 20-metre run dash.

Canberra went ahead 11 minutes from fulltime through a Campese penalty goal but it was the Sharks who would have the last laugh, the Gallen try in the closing moments sealing a victory which certainly keeps their finals hopes flickering with 12 rounds of the regular season remaining.

While experienced campaigners Gallen and Barrett led from the front in what were inspirational performances, youngster Stapleton again produced the goods in just his fourth NRL appearance. Stapleton was a constant thorn in the side for the Raiders, making several line breaks and continually sparking the Sharks in attack.

Also outstanding for the winners was prop Kade Snowden, in an impressive display up against the formidable Canberra forward pack, while teenage backs Wright and Blake Ferguson again played strongly.

On a sour note the Sharks had some injury concerns following the match, with Anthony Tupou missing the second half with a knee problem, Jon Mannah was unable to go back on the field after hurting his back, while Snowden was forced off in the later stages with an ankle problem.

In the Toyota Cup, the Sharks put themselves in position to score an upset win over the highly fancied Canberra side in the early moments of the second half, coming back to within six points at 30-24 down, before the floodgates opened for the home side which romped away to a comprehensive 58-24 win.

In a NSW Cup game played at North Sydney Oval on Saturday, hampered by the late withdrawals of Blake Green and Corey Hughes who received the call-up to the NRL squad, the Sharks seven game winning streak came to an abrupt halt when they were beaten 17-10 by the Bears.

The Sharks next assignment is against the Brisbane Broncos in a match to be played on Monday night.

To view a photo gallery from this game click here

NRL
SHARKS 24
Paul Gallen 2, Nathan Stapleton, Matt Wright, Ben Pomeroy tries. Luke Covell 2 goals
beat
CANBERRA 22
Joel Monahan, Tom Learoyd-Lahrs, Bronson Harrison, Jarrod Croker tries, Terry Campese 3 goals

Toyota Cup
SHARKS 24
Haydn Peacock, Daniel Perkins, Ben Orcher, Nick Read tries, Chad Townsend 4 goals
Lost to
Canberra 58

Crowd – 10, 104