Cronulla Sharks v Canberra Raiders NYC Holden Cup Rnd 10 1st Half Action (Photo : steve monty / OurFootyMedia)

A 79th minute try from winger Jonathan Reuben has seen the Canberra Raiders Under 20s side snatch a dramatic come from behind victory, 26-24, against the Cronulla Sharks.

The Raiders looked down and out midway through the second half when Sharks back rower Michael Morris scored the home side’s third unanswered try for a 24-10 lead with less than 30 minutes remaining. However, the Raiders clawed back into the match scoring three late tries to seal an unlikely win.

The Green Machine were under pressure early with the Sharks’ short kicking game forcing two line drop outs in the opening 10 minutes. However, the Raiders’ defence held strong and Cronulla were unable to convert any of their field position to points.

A poor kick clean up from Reuben gifted Cronulla’s Rea Pittman with the opening try in the 23rd minute. Sharks five eighth Jake Walsh was successful with his side line conversion giving his side a 6-0 lead.

The Raiders struck back at the half hour mark with quick hands down the left and a wonderful flick pass from centre Thoren Fidow-Kele putting Ricky Garard in to score. Mitch Cornish’s subsequent conversion levelled the scores.

However, the Sharks were soon in the lead again when their lock Scott Sorenson crashed over to score an unconverted try.

Jack Ahearn levelled the scores again in the 38th minute when he crossed on the back of a scrum feed deep in Cronulla’s half. Unfortunately, Cornish’s conversion attempt stuck the right post meaning the teams were all square at the break.

The Sharks took the early initiative in the second term scoring in the 42nd and 47th minutes through wingers Josh Lambert and Alan Niulesa. They grabbed their third consecutive try in the 52nd minute when Morris crossed under the posts for a 24-10 lead.

A long break from Rueben in the 58th minute put the Raiders in prime field position and the Green Machine capitalised on this opportunity with Brad Smith crossing on the right touchline after receiving a great cut out pass from Ahearn. Unfortunately, Trent Schubach missed the conversion attempt.

The visitors went back to back in the 62nd minute when interchange forward Tevita Pangai bulldozed his way past four Cronulla defenders to score under the posts. Worboys nailed the conversion and with 15 minutes remaining the Raiders trailed by only four, 24-20.

Rueben’s vital try came in the most dramatic of circumstances with the winger latching on to a chip kick from Ahearn and out pacing the Sharks’ cover defence in a 25 metre sprint to score adjacent to the right hand post.

This presented Worboys with the opportunity to win the match and he made no mistake, nailing the match winning conversion.

Today’s win is even more impressive when considering the Raiders’ gun centre pairing of Edrick Lee and Jeremy Hawkins withdrew from the match before kick off with injury while Cornish missed the entire second half with a hamstring complaint.