Canberra have breathed a huge sigh of relief with star backrower Hudson Young able to accept a fine for his late shot on Kalyn Ponga.

Young was sin-binned in Thursday night’s 28-12 win over the Knights after he collided with Ponga well after the star Newcastle fullback had passed the ball.

The 25-year-old was charged on Friday but was only handed a grade-one dangerous contact offence and can escape with a $750 fine.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart had asked after the game for some discretion to be used, adamant the NSW State of Origin player should not have been sin-binned.

“What was the sin-binning for, pushing?” Stuart said.

“The buzz word is discretionary isn’t it? So it was a discretionary decision.

“But he shouldn’t have even been (sin-binned) … I mean, penalise him.

“If we are going to start penalising people for that we are going to be playing a lot of games with 12.

“But if that is a sin-binning offence and that is a week off then it has got to be consistent every week and every game … but it won’t be.”

In more good news for Canberra, forward Emre Guler can also take a fine for a hip-drop tackle on Dylan Lucas.

Stuart has lavished praise on his rag-tag bunch of Canberra misfits after the Raiders dismantled Newcastle to kick off their season with an upset win. 

Written off as no hopes for the top eight following Jack Wighton’s exit to South Sydney, Stuart had been unable to add a player equal to the five-eighth’s calibre over the summer.

Instead, the Canberra coach handed Wighton’s old No. 6 jersey to 19-year-old prodigy Ethan Strange who was solid if unspectacular in just his second NRL game. 

“The younger players have really added some rejuvenated life and energy,” Stuart said. 

“It’s only going to get better (for Strange), win or lose tonight you can see we’ve got something to work with.”

Back-rower Zac Hosking was a standout against the Knights, while English import Morgan Smithies impressed with his ability to play tough and pretty in his first match in the NRL. 

The acquisition of Hosking was particularly satisfying for Stuart, who was left with a sour taste in his mouth when the forward snubbed the Raiders to join Penrith 12 months earlier

“People have been asking me about our new boys and they can all play footy,” Stuart said.

“Morgan Smithies is a very good footy player and he’s a tough kid.

“We chased (Hosking) before he went to Penrith and to be honest, I wasn’t interested in him after he said no the first time.

“When I found out about his character and what kind of bloke he is … I had to eat my hat and ask him to come back down again, he fits our culture and he’ll have a big hold on how we play.” 

The Green Machine are also expected to welcome Seb Kris from suspension for their round two meeting with Wests Tigers.