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The Raiders have survived a late scare to defeat the Dragons 36-26, moving to six unbeaten and recording, just about, their biggest win of the year in the process.
It had all looked like it would be so easy. Canberra lead 30-10 with half an hour to play, but lived up to their ‘faders’ tag with another second half collapse.
Not for the first time this year, and in stark contrast to previous campaigns, they held on in spite of themselves and won. They remain the only side in the NRL not to have registered a 13+ victory this year, but have won ten games anyway.
It’s not really surprising that this one went the way it did, and the manner of it, with Canberra flirting with the loss but triumphing anyway, is regular programming these days for the Raiders: they have lost the second half in all of their six consecutive wins.
Matt Timoko was the star early on with rampaging carries down the right and two tries for the game, but he was out done by Dragons winger Mikaele Ravalawa, who scored three times in defeat.
By the end, with the Dragons’ near-comeback, it seemed like interim coach Ryan Carr would be the happier of the two coaches, while Ricky Stuart was happy with the result but angered by the way his side folded late on.
“I’m not happy with it,” said Sticky. “We should have went on with it after the first half. I’m sure the group won;t be happy with it either.
“We used to be a team that was happy to win those games and it didn’t matter how. We’ve got to change that mindset to be more ruthless.
“Me sitting here and patting them on the back is the wrong action from a coach tonight, but I’m happy that we’re getting out with two points.”
Alongside the defeat, the Dragons also lost Jayden Sullivan to a hamstring injury, stand-in fullback Paul Turner after an accidental knee to the back and Jacob Liddle to a head knock.
“I’m super proud of our effort and the way we kept going at the game,” said Carr. “Something we’ve been guilty of in the last couple of weeks is going out of the game at the back end, but the boys stuck to the process.
There would have been a heap of reasons to give up given the injuries that we had and people playing out of position, but they didn’t blink twice. I’m pleased with that mentality from us tonight.”
Both sides were missing one to Origin – Ben Hunt for the Dragons, Corey Horsburgh for the Raiders – but the the contrasting trajectories ahead of the game suggested that there would only be one outcome.
The Dragons are a bad team in rotten form, and that was with their best player – however much he wants to leave – on deck. Without him, they’re even worse. On top of that, they also have nothing to play for.
Canberra are a highly-effective team, in amazing form and needed to win. For 50 minutes, it wasn’t a contest. Even the Raiders’ try celebrations – mocking Jonny Bairstow’s wicket last week – suggested that they might have excused anyone who turned over to the cricket.
St George Illawarra were helping. The first Raiders try, from Jordan Rapana, was soft and their second, via a run from Joseph Tapine, was even softer.
The prop forward is a powerful man, but was crabbing across the line and almost at a standstill when he decided to take on a pitiful Dragons defence and score.
Some aspects of the Raiders’ upsurge in form were at the fore again. Jamal Fogarty set up another try from a kick that hit the post, a move he has got down to an exact science.
Seb Kris was again excellent at the back, completing his evolution from solid first grader in the centres to a properly impressive number one.
Top of them all was Timoko, who gave the worst left edge defence in the league a nightmare evening with his strong, elusive running.
The centre has emerged as one of the best in the comp this year, blossoming from a decent prospect to one of the most exciting centres out there. He was far, far too good for St George Illawarra.
He ended with three line breaks, two tries, nine tackle busts and 229m, a superb night’s work from the Kiwi international.
St George Illawarra need this season to end. They had a crack at times tonight but are a limited side and can’t seem to decide between the new coach and the old.
Carr’s impact on this team has been to inject more freedom into their attack – it would have been hard not to, given how conservative Anthony Griffin was – but there’s habits that die very hard in there.
The two first half tries came from a close-range bargeover and a Jarrod Croker mistake. Creativity was at a premium for too long.
The second half did see them throw the ball and get results, but largely in a situation where the game was under control.
The Raiders always looked like they had gears to shift through if needed, and as soon as St George Illawarra got within touching distance, Seb Kris pushed the margin out again.
Junior Amone and Jayden Sullivan had a few moments in their audition for the post-Hunt world, but they’ll get better chances than this.
The Raiders are a good defensive unit, the Dragons pack got battered and it would be unfair to judge the halves based on one performance when the season is gone.
Guys like Paul Turner, Billy Burns and tonight’s debutant, Dan Russell are career reserve graders, and while honest pros, they were never going to be a match or a motivated, in-form Canberra.
Everyone knows the clearout is coming and a significant portion of those on display tonight are not going to be part of the Shane Flanagan era.
The sensible thing would be to replicate the Bulldogs’ attitude from last year under Mick Potter: have some fun, throw the footy, give the fans something to cheer.
You’re probably going to lose anyway and nothing really matters, so have a crack. Carr’s men did achieve that – even if they didn’t get the result.