Blake Ferguson ... in action for Canberra against Newcastle. Source: News Limited
Canberra centre Blake Ferguson bagged a hat-trick of tries as the Raiders overcame a sluggish start to score 44 unanswered points and romp home to a massive NRL win over Newcastle on Sunday.
9 Tries 2 | |
|---|---|
| Sandor Earl 22' | James McManus 4' |
| Blake Ferguson 26' | Robert Rochow 11' |
| Sandor Earl 39' | |
| Blake Ferguson 42' | |
| Sandor Earl 47' | |
| Reece Robinson 66' | |
| Blake Ferguson 70' | |
| Joe Picker 74' | |
| Jack Wighton 78' | |
4 Conversions 2 | |
| Blake Ferguson 43' | Kurt Gidley 5' |
| Blake Ferguson 67' | Kurt Gidley 12' |
| Blake Ferguson 72' | |
| Blake Ferguson 75' | |
0 Penalties 1 | |
| Kurt Gidley 16' | |
The emphatic 44-14 victory at Canberra Stadium on Sunday was their eighth consecutive home win and followed last weekend's upset of the Storm in Melbourne.
Ferguson's slick form should attract the interest of NSW State of Origin selectors and coach David Furner was singing the star centre's praises after the match.
"He's a player who can handle Origin, his preparation is the key so if he keeps playing like that there's no doubt his name's going to be tossed up," Furner said.
"You only have to look at last week and this week, he's got plenty of ability."
The Raiders created havoc down the right edge, with Ferguson setting up several of winger Sandor Earl's three tries.
"I can't say enough about our right edge, we've got a few things to fix up in defence but our attack's good," Ferguson said.
The Raiders got off to a dismal start, with captain Terry Campese kicking out on the full twice to stall his team's momentum.
The Knights punished them immediately through tries to James McManus and Robbie Rochow and a penalty goal to Kurt Gidley to take a 14-0 advantage after just 16 minutes.
Raiders prop David Shillington (161 metres) returned from a rib cartilage injury off the interchange in the 20th minute and his go-forward was immediately evident.
His impact helped the Raiders earn back-to-back sets and they hit back through tries to Earl and then a brilliant 55-metre solo effort from Ferguson, whose only blemish was his goal-kicking, with four successes from eight conversion attempts.
Earl then scored his second try in the 39th minute, with only Ferguson's third failed conversion attempt preventing the Raiders from reeling in the 14-point deficit before the break.
"I was getting a little bit filthy. I was striking the ball well but it wasn't going through the posts," Ferguson said.
However second-half tries to Earl and Reece Robinson, also down the right fringe, atoned for Ferguson's sloppy goal-kicking.
Campese's all-round performance dramatically improved after his shaky start, his pinpoint kicking leading to the Raiders' last three tries to Ferguson, Joe Picker and Jack Wighton.
Knights coach Wayne Bennett was even shorter on words than usual in the post-match press conference, leaving the majority of the talking to captain Kurt Gidley.
"We shot ourselves in the foot in the first half, and then the floodgates opened," Gidley said.
"I suppose embarrassing is the word."
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