In the absence of regular first-teamers Kalyn Ponga, Daniel Saifiti, Tyson Frizell, Mitch Barnett, Lachlan Fitzgibbon, Bradman Best and Enari Tuala, Newcastle gave a 16,768-strong crowd cause for optimism when they led 22-8 at half-time.

But the Raiders, needing a win to stay in touch with the top eight, rallied to dominate the second stanza.

The match went down to the wire, with a no-try ruling from the bunker denying Newcastle winger Edrick Lee a last-minute try in the corner that may have taken the game to golden point.

Canberra remain ninth, two points adrift of the eight, while Newcastle occupy 13th rung on the competition ladder.

The Knights enjoyed a dream start when they spun the ball to the left edge in the sixth minute and created an overlap that Lee finished off.

The final pass for Lee came from debutant centre Krystian Mapapalangi.

The Raiders took only five minutes to hit back, when centre Sebastian Kris beat a flimsy tackle by Dane Gagai to score out wide.

Gagai made amends before half-time to throw the final pass for two tries by winger Dominic Young, which gave the Knights a 12-4 lead.

Raiders winger Jordan Rapana reduced the deficit when he scored in the corner in the 32nd minute, after what appeared a suspiciously forward pass.

The Knights hit back four minutes from the interval after Lee scored his second from an Anthony Milford cross-field kick.

The home team were in again when skipper Jayden Brailey backed up to score on the stroke of half-time, giving Newcastle a handy 22-8 advantage.

The Raiders grabbed the momentum early in the second half and were rewarded when Kris caught a bomb cleanly to score his second try.

Six minutes later, Hudson Young scored and suddenly it was a two-point ball game, then a penalty goal by Jamal Fogarty locked scores up at 22-all.

Raiders five-eighth Jack Wighton put his team in the lead for the first time all game in the 73^rd minute when he finished off a long-range team try.

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