A furious Ricky Stuart has labelled forward Corey Horsburgh's decision to slap Dane Gagai as a "brain explosion" and Canberra's NRL finals hopes were finally ended in a 30-24 loss to Newcastle.
Knowing a defeat would dash the Raiders' ambitions of finishing with a winning record, effectively concluding their top-eight ambitions, the Green Machine's campaign looked alive when Gagai was penalised for initiating a push and shove metres from the Knights' line.