Canberra has survived a spirited second half comeback from Brisbane to hold on for a courageous 22-14 win in a Monday night thriller at Canberra Stadium.
The Raiders led 18-0 at half-time but then had to batten down the hatches as the Broncos came storming back into the contest with three tries after the break.
The visitors trailed by four points with 12 minutes left but despite a mountain of possession and good field position could not conjure up a match winner.
Josh McCrone's try in the dying seconds finally put the game to bed, giving Canberra its first win of the season
With Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and F1 driver Mark Webber among the crowd of 14,200, Canberra got off to a flying start.
It took just four minutes for the Green Machine to record its first try at home for the year.
Bronson Harrison surprised the Brisbane defence by running the ball on the last tackle, popping up a lovely ball for centre Joel Thompson to score.
Terry Campese kicked the conversion for a 6-0 lead.
Seven minutes later the Raiders doubled their advantage following a brilliant try in which six players handled.
Campese, Dane Tilse and Joe Picker were involved in the lead-up, with the exciting young fullback wrapping around Picker and attempting to send a pass over Denan Kemp to keep the movement going.
Kemp knocked the pass down only for the rebound to fall into Dugan's hands, the Canberra No.1 racing between two defenders to complete a terrific try.
The Broncos' efforts to work themselves back into the contest were thwarted by poor handling – just 12 out of 20 sets completed - and it was yet another mistake which gave Canberra a chance to attack in the dying stages of the first half.
Harrison, who was enjoying a fabulous first half, was grounded close to the Brisbane line and got up for a quick play-the-ball.
Travis Waddell jumped out of dummy half and served up the ball for half-back Josh McCrone to crash his way over despite desperate attempts to hold him up over the line.
Campese added the extras and the Raiders were looking good things at 18-0.
But four minutes after the resumption the Broncos struck back through Israel Folau and it was game on.
Folau crossed for his second try on 56 minutes to narrow the gap to eight and Ben Te'o drew the teams closer with Brisbane's third four-pointer in the 68th minute.
But despite having all the ball – Brisbane enjoyed 14 more sets than Canberra – the visitors simply could not crack the resolute Raiders' defence over the final 10 minutes.
Canberra 22
Tries: McCrone 2, Thompson, Dugan,
Goals: Campese 3
Brisbane 14
Tries: Folau 2, Te'o
Goals: Parker