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Canberra star playmaker Terry Campese has credited his successful NRL comeback from injury to the biggest fan in his life: his mum Lisa.
Returning from a year on the sidelines following knee surgery, Campese’s 76th minute cross-field kick for flying winger Edrick Lee earned the Raiders a last-gasp 20-16 win over the Warriors at Canberra Stadium.
After the big play, Campese immediately turned to exuberantly celebrate towards the section of the crowd where up to 80 friends and family members that he had bought tickets for were sitting.
However he told reporters that it was his mum Lisa who he had singled out in the crowd after the siren.
“Only the one fan (I kissed), one of the biggest in my life is my old girl,” he said.
“She had a few tears and it was great to see her, she had been a bit nervous.
“I just wanted to make her proud because she’s been there for the past two years for me.”
Admitting he had been slightly scared about his long-awaited comeback, Campese said he had received plenty of messages of support – including a cheeky one from wife Sarah.
“She sent me a pretty funny text message before, I won’t repeat that, it was a little bit different to everyone’s good lucks,” the 28-year-old joked.
Campese’s fairytale return aside, the Raiders’ second NRL Houdini act in as many weeks was soured by a seventh minute rib cartilage injury to co-captain David Shillington, who has been ruled out of next week’s Anzac Test.
But there were no shortage of Raiders players looking to pick up the slack, with every other forward making over 100 metres in attack.
With the platform set, try-scoring machine Lee stepped up for the second week running after throwing the match winning no-look pass to centre Jarrod Croker against the Roosters last week.
Lee not only sprinted 30 metres to pluck the win out of thin air on Saturday night but also sparked the Raiders’ 12-point comeback when he beat his opposite and then carried three defenders over the line.
As an interesting side note, Lee’s aerial skills could be partly attributed to the time he spent in the now defunct NBL Brisbane Bullets development squad.
“That was the first time (Campese) kicked it my way and I was fortunate enough to come down with it,” Lee said.
“As soon as (Campese) came onto the field, the team just lifted and so did the crowd.
“In that second half we were really looking for guidance and leadership and he was the one to lead the way.”
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