While it looked like for much of the second half, it was only a matter of when Canberra Olympic would find the finishing that was deserting them it was the Rhinos who made them pay on a counter attack.

After good build-up play between Mitch Bagiante and Artur Rattel, Rattel was able to find second-half substitute Samuel Scarfone open on the far side.

Having only been on the field for a minute and 30 seconds, the young attacker made no mistake with the chance provided to tuck the ball home past the Canberra Olympic goalkeeper with only a minute and a half of regulation time remaining.

Rhinos coach Gabriel Abdala said the win shows the clubs never say never attitude.

“I was tossing up as to whether we go for the three points or hold out for the draw,” he said.

“Here at the Rhinos we go for the win, or we don't go for anything, so we brought on Sam Scarfone, and he came away with the win.

“He (Scarfone) is a good weapon to bring off the bench. He is quick, he is powerful, and he knows where the goal is.”

The central defensive combination of Ally MacLeod and Luke Pandolfo worked well in tandem all night and limited the amount of clear-cut chances Olympic were able to create in the box.

“They are two guys who are very experienced and very calm on the ball,” he said.

“They kept it nice and tight and made sure nothing silly came through and even when they did come through it was good build-up play, but they covered each other.”

With the Rhinos at times this season struggling to keep teams from scoring from the chances they create it was pleasing for Abdala to see youngster Caleb Biondo stand tall in goal with the Canberra Olympic forwards bearing down on goal.

“There is a big future for him at this club as a first grader,” he said.

“It is always a good confidence for a kid who is only nineteen turning 20 to come in in a big game and get a clean sheet.”

It keeps the Rhinos slim hopes of making finals alive as they head on a road trip to Canberra next weekend to take on Tigers FC.