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Australians who sustain fractured hips, usually in a fall, are waiting longer than they should for surgery, with a health care watchdog warning this is seriously impacting survival rates.

Older Australians are more susceptible to the injury with most hip fractures happening to people age 65 or older.

Every year, 19,000 people fracture their hip and one in four die within 12 months of the injury.

With Australia's ageing population, the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care said taking action was more important than ever.

On Monday, the commission will release updated clinical care standards for hospitals, reducing the maximum time frame for surgery after a hip fracture from 48 hours to 36.

This will bring Australia in line with international guidelines and, for the first time, the standards explicitly include patients who need to be transferred to a hospital that can perform the surgery.

The commission's acting Chief Medical Officer Carolyn Hullick said sobering statistics showed an Australian with a hip fracture was almost four times more likely to die within a year than someone of the same age who was not injured.

"Anyone who has seen someone live through a hip fracture knows it's much more than a broken bone," she said.

"People with a hip fracture tend to be older, frail and more vulnerable, so it is critical the fracture is repaired quickly to reduce pain and get them on the road to recovery, back to independence.

"(Hip fractures) have an immense personal toll on individuals and families in addition to the burden on our health system of around $600 million each year."

In 2022, the average time to surgery ranged from 16 to 92 hours, with the longest waiting times for people who needed to be transferred to a different hospital for surgery.

Almost 80 per cent of patients had surgery within 48 hours.

Geriatrician Professor Jacqueline Close said the updated clinical standards would be a lever for change.

The adage "don't let the sun set twice before hip fracture repair" had merit for several reasons, she said.

"Firstly, no one wants to see their mum or dad fasting and in pain waiting for surgery, and shorter time to surgery is associated with fewer complications, better recovery and survival," she said.

"It is also more cost-efficient to manage these patients well.

"Every day surgery is delayed, two days are added to the length of stay (and) the sooner you operate, the quicker patients can get walking and go home."

© AAP 2023

Newcastle's fairytale finals run is still alive but they could be forced to face the Warriors without halfback Jackson Hastings, who re-injured his ankle in a nerve-wracking 30-28 extra time win over Canberra.

In one of the most dramatic finals games in recent history, Newcastle five-eighth Tyson Gamble alleged he was bitten by Jack Wighton only for the Canberra centre to escape a send-off and be placed on report.

After his side squandered a 12-point lead in the final 20 minutes, it was left to Newcastle captain Kalyn Ponga to kick an 89th minute penalty to clinch the elimination final for his side in front of a 29,548 crowd at McDonald Jones Stadium.

His kick, in Newcastle's first home final since 2006, ensured the Knights will head to Auckland to face the Warriors next Saturday on the back of 10 straight wins.

They will more than likely be without Hastings after the halfback missed the second half and extra time with an ankle injury.

"It doesn't look great and I haven't had a chance to speak to the doctors just yet," said Newcastle coach Adam O'Brien.

"We tested him at halftime and he wasn't going to be able to contribute in the second half."

O'Brien nominated Adam Clune as the most likely man to step into the void, with Hastings now facing a race against the clock to line up against the Warriors.

Newcastle opened the scoring on Sunday through Greg Marzhew but the Raiders flipped the script to lead 16-6 at the break.

The expectant Knights crowd were silenced, and it was only when Wighton was placed on report for biting in the 47th minute that they found their voice again.

Referee Ashley Klein opted against sending him off in what was his 241st - and ultimately last - game for Canberra before heading to South Sydney.

"They are allegations," said Raiders coach Ricky Stuart.

"I just hope that a great game of football isn't overshadowed in the media by that."

Feeling hard done by, the Newcastle crowd and players clicked into gear.

Dominic Young, Ponga and Dane Gagai helped them lay on 18 points in the space of 16 minutes to push out to a 28-16 lead.

But Canberra fought back to make it 28-28 at fulltime courtesy of Tom Starling and Matt Frawley.

"That's Raiders DNA what you saw there," Stuart said.

"We showed why we are a top eight team, who are unlucky not to be in the top four. I couldn't be any prouder."

But for all his side's grit and fight, Stuart's Raiders lacked a clinical edge.

Jamal Fogarty had two field goal attempts charged down with the game all square, before Canberra back-rower Hudson Young was penalised for a deliberate offside in the 89th minute.

Ponga then stepped up to kick his side into a semi-final with the Warriors.

"(The crowd) was unbelievable, so loud and I guess the enormity of that weighs on the team at times," O'Brien said.

"I guess the opposition they'll feel the weight of a nation on their shoulders, they'll know what it feels like next week."

© AAP 2023

The battle to reach the NRLW finals will go down to the last weekend of the regular season after Canberra and Gold Coast claimed strong wins on Sunday.

The Raiders were never threatened against North Queensland, piling on the first 26 points in their 34-12 win, while it was a similar story in the Titans' 34-12 win against Parramatta.

With one round left, the Titans (third, 12 points) and Brisbane (fourth, 10 points) can each secure finals with a win next weekend, while Canberra (fifth, 10 points) will need either to slip up if they're to crack the top four.

The Raiders play the Titans and would need to win by at least 12 points to overturn a points-differential gap and jump them, or could reach the top four if the Broncos fall to St George Illawarra.

But that might be achievable if in-form five-eighth Zahara Temara continues her stunning campaign, having torn apart the Cowboys with a try and two assists as her Dally M Medal case continues to build.

Reflecting on an up-and-down season in which some late fade-outs have prevented them from already securing a finals berth, captain Simaima Taufa said Canberra only had themselves to blame.

"We put ourselves in that position with lapses in our performances the last couple of weeks," she said.

"But in saying that, we've put ourselves in a position where we can earn our spot in the finals series and when it comes down to it, it's who turns up on the day.

"That's the aim of the game, to get to the final series, and I know our girls are going to lift for that moment.

"We're slowly building, we're getting there and it's going to come down to the way we fight each and every week."

Bench hooker Emma Barnes' first-half try was probably the pick of the bunch, with Temara gathering her own chip-and-chase to put her teammate through for 22-0.

The only major negatives from the Raiders' biggest win in their young history were a pair of serious-looking injuries.

English second-rower Hollie-Mae Dodd went down with a non-contact knee injury and was undergoing evaluation on her anterior cruciate ligament, while centre Mackenzie Wiki left the field with a leg complaint.

Later, the Titans had a scare when Parramatta's Kimberley Hunt found the match's first points but responded emphatically with five straight tries.

Powerful centre Jaime Chapman looked unstoppable in scoring a hat-trick, while five-eighth Chantay Kiria-Ratu was in similarly strong touch with a pair of tries and another assist.

The Titans' two tries in the last 10 minutes could prove vital for a much-needed points differential boost.

© AAP 2023