Relief for Raiders as skipper avoids sanction for high shot that left rival bloodied
Updated . First published
Canberra captain Joe Tapine has avoided sanction for a high shot on Gold Coast's Reagan Campbell-Gillard.
The Raiders prop was not among the four charges laid by the match review committee from the two Sunday games.
No players are facing suspensions but Gold Coast's Klese Haas, Newcastle's James Schiller, and Cronulla pair Teig Wilton and Cameron McInnes can all accept fines for grade one offences.
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Tapine's shot left Campbell-Gillard with a bloodied nose.
Tapine was placed on report for the incident, but managed to avoid being sin binned - perhaps to the surprise of Michael Ennis on commentary after a recent crackdown.
Joseph Tapine's high shot leaves Reagan Campbell-Gillard bleeding. Fox League
"Tapine coming out of the line, trying to make a statement," he said on Fox League.
"Viliame Kikau split Campbell Graham the other day, which was deemed light force.
"Don't start us on the medium force - not on Easter Sunday. I'm OK with that one."
The Raiders overcame a slow start to force their way back into the NRL's top four, producing a comeback win in a see-sawing battle against the Titans.
Beau Fermor opened the scoring within five minutes, latching onto a deft grubber kick and putting the hosts on the board early at Cbus Super Stadium.
Jojo Fifita and AJ Brimson continued the hot start for the Titans, who scored three-straight tries from kicks to put Canberra on the ropes.
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Once Campbell-Gillard left the field, things started to fall apart for the Titans as Savelio Tamale and Hudson Young got the visitors back into the contest, before Ethan Strange levelled the score just before the half time break.
Savelio Tamale celebrates a try with his Raiders teammates. Getty
Canberra carried that momentum with them into the second half as Seb Kris put his side ahead for the first time in the contest.
The see-sawing nature of the clash continued when Allan Fitzgibbon scored his first NRL try in just his second appearance as the Raiders started to dish up some errors.
The ongoing confusion around hip-drop tackles continued as well, with Young staying down clutching at his ankle after a try-saver from Jaylan De Groot.
However, the officials opted not to penalise the Titans fullback for the incident.
Jaylan De Groot's tackle on Hudson Young Fox League
Fitzgibbon looked to have put the Titans back in front with less than 20 minutes to go, but the Bunker intervened and ruled that Brimson knocked it on in the lead-up.
The decision proved costly for Gold Coast, who conceded a penalty moments later and allowed the Raiders to stroll up the field and take their lead to eight points as the in-form Young scored his second try of the afternoon.
"He is in incredible form," Ennis said.
"I can't believe the Titans didn't react when Young got the ball."
The 30-20 victory marked the fifth for Ricky Stuart's men in their first seven games, placing them level with the Warriors and Storm on 10 competition points.
Canberra will host the Dolphins next weekend, while the struggling Titans are set to travel up north to Townsville for a must-win game against the Cowboys.
