NRL: Raiders steal win over Storm

Joel Edwards, Bill Tupou, and Terry Campese embrace after winning the round seven NRL match between the Canberra Raiders and the Melbourne Storm. Photo / Getty Images

The rugby league gods have delivered the Melbourne Storm a dose of karma with a last-gasp 24-22 loss to the Raiders a week after an officiating blunder gifted them a miraculous NRL win.

Raiders prop Paul Vaughan crossed in the 79th minute to level the scores and man-of-the-match Jarrod Croker kicked the conversion for the dramatic victory at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.

However, the Raiders could count themselves fortunate to even have a chance to steal the win over the Storm, who pipped St George Illawarra on Monday night with a try that the NRL later conceded shouldn't have been awarded as the final play-the-ball came after the fulltime siren.

Up 22-18 in the 71st minute, the Storm looked to have the match all wrapped up when winger Sisa Waqa appeared to cross for his second try of the match.

However, the on-field referee ruled Waqa bounced short of the tryline after a brilliant tackle from Croker.

It was referred to the video referee as a no-try, and while it appeared as though Waqa had grounded it on the line, there wasn't enough evidence to overturn the decision.

Raiders fullback Anthony Milford was sensational, as was his opposite Billy Slater, who would've busted the game wide open if it wasn't for some desperate defence by Croker - who made no less than three try-saving tackles.

The Storm's short and long kicking game was at its pinpoint best, setting up the opening two tries and catching Milford out of position twice in the first half.

Storm forward Ryan Hinchliffe opened the scoring in the ninth minute after pouncing on a Cameron Smith grubber that had rebounded off the post.

The Raiders struck back through centre Matt Allwood in the 15th minute, but the Storm skipped away again through tries to Waqa and Mahe Fonua.

The home side kept in touch on the stroke of halftime when winger Reece Robinson finished off a crazy try that wouldn't have looked out of place at a Harlem Globetrotters match, narrowing the gap to 16-12.

Fonua, a late inclusion into the side for the suspended Will Chambers, picked up his second of the match not long after the break, but it didn't take much longer for Robinson to do the same for the Raiders.

Waqa was then denied his second try twice by the video referee, which would eventually allow the Raiders a sniff at the win.

- AAP