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AAP | 24/08/08 | 0
AUDIO - Post-match with Raiders coach Neil Henry
Canberra virtually guaranteed themselves a spot in the NRL finals after coming from behind to score an impressive 40-25 win over South Sydney at ANZ Stadium today.
The Raiders had trailed 19-6 at halftime but piled on six tries in the second half to complete a remarkable turnaround and continue their push towards an unlikely top four finish
The win moved Canberra up to 28 competition points, just one behind fifth-placed Brisbane and two behind the Sydney Roosters, leaving them in strong position with their remaining two games against North Queensland and the Bulldogs.
The win could have come at a heavy cost however, with halfback Marc Herbert (medial ligament) and prop Troy Thompson (achilles) both suffering potentially season-ending injuries.
Winger Adrian Purtell bagged a double for the Raiders while Joe Picker, Colin Best, Brett Kelly, David Milne and Joel Monaghan also got in on the action.
"Our injury tally this year is unbelievable," said five-eighth Terry Campese, who continued his rich vein of form in the win.
"You come off the field thinking, 'who's injured this week?'
"Having our starting halfback and starting front rower with the injuries they've got it's disappointing after the good comeback we had today."
The injury woes leave coach Neil Henry with plenty to ponder ahead of Saturday's clash with the Cowboys.
The Raiders are short on halves, with Herbert taking over from disgraced star Todd Carney, and Henry could be forced to switch lock Alan Tongue into six or seven.
"It's one of our options, we'll just have to have a look," Henry said.
"We were down to 19 (fit players) before today ... so now we're down to 17.
"We might look at the NYC (under 20s) team, we'll pluck someone from somewhere."
Canberra were gifted the opening try in the 11th minute when Nathan Merritt's pass was intercepted just 10 metres out from the Rabbitohs' tryline but Souths halfback Chris Sandow hit back five minutes later when he crossed under the posts.
Hooker Issac Luke and winger Beau Champion struck shortly after and Sandow nailed a sweetly-struck field goal from 40m on the halftime siren to extend the margin to what seemed a handy 13 points.
But Canberra came out a different side after the interval, needing just two minutes to hit back when a Terry Campese kick rebounded off David Fa'alogo and into the arms of Picker.
Best then scored the pick of the tries five minutes later against the club he will join next year, with a superb solo effort from halfway as he shrugged off attempted tackles from Jamie Simpson and Beau Champion in the process.
With 23 minutes to go, the Raiders reclaimed the lead when Campese set up Purtell's second and the visitors looked unlikely to surrender the momentum they had quickly built.
Kelly snatched another intercept try seconds later and Milne and Monaghan scored with runaway efforts to put the result beyond doubt.
Luke Capewell added a consolation try, but the damage had already been done in front of a small home crowd.
Our injury tally this year is unbelievable. You come off the field thinking, 'who's injured this week?'
Raiders five-eighth Terry Campese
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