Raiders 74 Panthers 12

WHEN rookie Canberra halfback Marc Herbert stepped up to take the final conversion attempt on full-time, with teammate Terry Campese needing only one more goal to equal Mal Meninga's club record for the most points in a match, commentators suggested the Raiders' five-eighth must have been injured.

Others speculated that Campese may have declined the kick out of respect for Canberra's greatest player.

Embarrassed Raiders captain Alan Tongue wished after his side's 74-12 win that one of those theories had been true.

Instead, Tongue revealed that he had instructed Herbert to take the kick because he wanted the man of the match in only his third NRL game to get on the scoreboard and thought Campese looked "buggered" after his 36-point haul that comprised four tries and 10 goals.

"I feel very, very bad about that," Tongue admitted afterwards. "I had no idea. Campo gave me the evil eye when he walked into the dressing shed. I just said to give Herby a go, his confidence is sky-high and that is obviously pretty disappointing on my behalf. But he didn't know, we weren't talking about it out there so he had no idea."

Raiders coach Neil Henry said the club's statistician had told him about the record just before Herbert moved in to kick the goal that capped the club's biggest win in what was also the worst defensive effort in Penrith's 42-year history, but it was too late to send a message out onto the field.

"Herby already had the shot lined up, so I said, 'Oh well'. I think it was (assistant coach) Dave Furner's call actually because he had 10 goals and would have broken Dave's record," Henry said. "But obviously if we had known earlier, we would have sent the message out to let Campo take it."

Campese, the nephew of Wallabies great David Campese, laughed off the mix-up but was obviously disappointed to learn he had surrendered a rare opportunity to enter the club's record books.

"I had no idea," he said. "I didn't even think of it. When you're playing good footy like that and all the team is playing good footy, I think that is the last thing on your mind - breaking records. Tonguey came and apologised but it honestly doesn't bother me. I think he said because Herby is the next (goalkicker) in line and he was man of the match to give him a kick and put him on the scoring list.

"Guys like Mal and Furnsy have been around the club for many years and I've only been here for a few, so it doesn't bother me to be second in line to guys like that. Just even to be in the record-breaking line is unbelievable, considering the talent that has been at the Raiders for years before this."

After having a contract offer withdrawn just a few months ago while the Raiders pursued former St George Illawarra captain Trent Barrett, Campese has hit top form since resolving his future at the club.

With Todd Carney's axing from the team and ultimately the club, the 24-year-old Queanbeyan junior has thrived on the added responsibility and the opportunity to renew a scrumbase partnership he formed with Herbert in the juniors. "Campo is absolutely killing it," Herbert said. "I was man of the match but I think he will be player's player, and I don't know if I deserved it. He played great and he's been playing great at the back end of the season. I've been playing with him for a while and this is as good as I've seen him play and I think he will continue it. I feel terrible about what happened at the end. I didn't realise and the boys chucked the ball to me, so I took the kick."

Earmarked as a future star by the Raiders for some time, Herbert slipped behind Carney, Campese and Michael Dobson but he has slotted into the playmaking role with ease since being given his chance. "I've trained with the top squad for probably 2½ years, so slotting in like this was something I was prepared to do," he said.