New Canberra playmaker Blake Austin says while Jack Wighton “let us down a bit” by being sin-binned for punching, he’s still the key reason why everyone at Raiders HQ has a smile on their face this week.

Wighton and Cronulla’s Sosaia Feki were both given a ten minute spell on the sidelines in the second half of Canberra’s 24-20 NRL win after Wighton landed a punch on Feki.

The Raiders fullback was charged with grade-one striking, but escaped suspension after an early guilty plea.

Canberra fell behind for the first time in the match from the resulting penalty goal, with only some Sisa Waqa magic putting them back out in front.

Wighton then returned to the paddock to pull off a spectacular match saving tackle on flying Sharks winger Mitch Brown at the death to add to his brilliant two-try performance.

And while Wighton may have dodged a week on the sidelines – not to mention Feki’s right arm hook – he did have to answer to his teammates.

“He was a little disappointed that he let us down a little bit. But he came up with that tackle at the end of the game that really sealed the match for us,” Austin said.

“We don’t condone the stuff that happened towards the end. But he was brilliant.

Austin said Wighton’s desire to ensure his frustrations didn’t cost the team a season-opening win was a good measure of his character.

“If things had have panned out differently and he cost us, then he would have been pretty distraught,” Austin said.

“But he came on, and to his credit, he made a huge play for the team. And it’s why everyone has a bit of a smile on their face this morning.”

Meanwhile, Raiders winger Jordan Rapana is in doubt for Sunday’s clash with the Warriors in Canberra after suffering a hamstring strain in the win over Cronulla.