Terry Campese on the attack. Source: Mark Nolan / Getty Images
THE video refs were again in the spotlight for the wrong reasons as Canberra staged a stunning come-from-behind 24-22 victory over Melbourne on Sunday - but not before the Storm had a controversial and crucial late try disallowed.
Backing up from their own contentious win over the Dragons last Monday night, the Storm suffered their own moment of "bad karma" when the Raiders got home on what appeared another bad call.
After trailing for the entire match, the Raiders capped off a remarkable fightback when giant prop Paul Vaughan stepped past three defenders and crashed over two more to score the winning try in the 79th minute.
But the Storm will be furious after they had a try disallowed in the 71st minute that could have secured the two competition points.
Sisa Waqa looked to crash over but referee Gerard Sutton sent it up to the video referee box as a "no try".
Despite television replays suggesting Waqa had touched down before he was bundled into touch by Jarrod Croker, video refs Luke Phillips and Matthew Rodwell could not find "sufficient" evidence to overturn the on-field ruling.
Rugby League Immortal Wally Lewis said on Channel Nine: "I'm absolutely stunned. How they came up with that decision has got me beat."
Cameron Smith tried in vain to get referee Sutton to listen.
"We see it as he's bounced short and he has gone into touch," Sutton told Smith.
Melbourne went to the break ahead 16-12 with Smith heavily involved in the Storm's opening two tries.
The Storm skipper put through a smart kick that rebounded off the posts and into Ryan Hinchcliffe's hands to open the scoring in the 9th minute.
Canberra responded when Matt Allwood showed exceptional pace to get past Justin O'Neill and carry Billy Slater over for his first NRL try in the 15th minute to lock it up at 6-all.
But Smith then caught the Raiders off-guard with a magnificent 40-20 kick on the third tackle midway through the half.
Soon after, Cooper Cronk spotted space down the right edge and a smart chip opened the way for Sisa Waqa to crash past Anthony Milford for a 12-6 lead.
Melbourne went further ahead in the 32nd minute when Mahe Fonua ran off Slater to finish off a brilliant set play.
But in the countdown to halftime, the Raiders narrowed the margin to four points when Reece Robinson finished off a spectacular last tackle act of desperation.
Melbourne lost five-eighth Ben Roberts, who suffered a knee injury likely to keep him sidelined for a couple of weeks.
The Storm kicked 22-12 clear in the 44th minute when a terrific cutout pass from Cronk put Fonua between defenders for his second try.
But the Raiders put themselves back in the contest when Milford's presence created doubt in the Storm defensive line and just enough space for Robinson to race over for his second try to make it 22-18 and set up a thrilling final quarter.
Josh Papalii pulled off a brilliant try saving tackle to deny Waqa in the 62nd minute, before the late no try kept Canberra in the game once again.
Vaughan then produced the biggest play of his short career to seal victory for the Raiders.
CANBERRA 24 (R Robinson 2 M Allwood P Vaughan tries J Croker 4 goals) bt MELBOURNE 22 (M Fonua 2 R Hinchcliffe S Waqa tries C Smith 3 goals) at GIO Stadium. Referee: Gerard Sutton, David Munro.
See how we covered the game live below.
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