The Canberra Raiders remain in the hunt for a finals spot after defeating a fast finishing Gold Coast Titans 34-28 at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.
Canberra set the platform for victory in the opening 40 minutes, scoring five tries-to-one to take a commanding 28-6 lead into the break.
But the Titans charged back into the game with tries in the 50th and 55th minutes before the Raiders appeared to seal the result courtesy of a 66th minute Bronson Harrison try.
Two late Gold Coast tries made for a nail-biting final few minutes, but the Green Machine held on to secure a vital two competition points.
The Raiders were written off as a top-eight contender following their loss to a depleted Manly side back in Round 15, but since then they have accounted for the high-flying Storm and Titans to be well and truly back in the race for the 2009 premiership.
Despite the result which ends a four-game winning-streak for the Titans, the injury-ravaged club remains well entrenched in the all-important top-four.
A Joel Monaghan intercept off a stray Scott Prince set the wheels in motion for the opening four-pointer of the game when on the very next play Raiders' five-eighth Terry Campese took the line on then lobbed a superb pass out to winger Phil Graham for a try in the left corner.
Campese's sideline conversion attempt bounced off the upright to leave the Raiders 4-0 in front after seven minutes.
The match came to a five minute standstill in the 18th minute when Raiders winger Justin Carney was taken off the field in a medi-cab with a suspected broken leg.
But the concerns over Carney's well-being very quickly turned to joy for the Raiders when interchange forward Josh Miller crashed over from close-range in the 20th minute to stretch the home side's lead out to 10-0.
The Titans stormed back into the contest courtesy of a simple dropped ball out of dummy-half by rookie Raiders centre Jarrod Croker, handing the visitors ideal field position.
Just a couple of plays later Australian Test forward Anthony Laffranchi charged over from five metres out, reducing the Titans' deficit to four points following Prince's simple conversion.
The Raiders struck back in stunning circumstances when a long, floating Campese pass back to Croker resulted in Graham clapping on the pace down the left touchline for aclassic 50m try.
Campese slotted the mid-range conversion pushing the Raiders out to a 16-6 lead.
Before this match Miller hadn't scored an NRL try since 2004, but grabbed his second in a matter of 15 minutes to help the Raiders out to a 22-6 advantage.
The game appeared as good as over when NSW Origin hopeful Tom Learoyd-Lahrs crashed over in the 38th minute off a one-arm Croker offload to give the Raiders their 22-point half-time lead.
However the gritty Titans were not done with yet, PNG World Cup star David Mead crossing for two tries in a five minute period after the break to put his side back in the contest at 28-16 down.
The Raiders should have found safety in the 66th minute when Harrison steamed onto a flat Campese pass to score a converted try under the posts.
But four-pointers to Walker (72nd) and five-eighth Preston Campbell (75th) put the Titans within striking distance to set up an absorbing final few minutes.
Apart from Carney's injury the only other concern for the victorious Raiders was the reporting of Learoyd-Lahrs in the 52nd minute for using an elbow to head of Laffranchi whilst in possession of the ball.
Canberra Raiders 34
Tries: Graham 2, Miller 2, Learoyd-Lahrs, Harrison
Conversions: Campese 5
Gold Coast Titans 28
Tries: Mead 2, Laffranchi, Walker, Campbell
Conversions: Prince 5