Raiders hang on for tight win

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Raiders hang on for tight win

It's nights like these NRL coaches shed hair at an alarming rate.



Holding a comfortable 18-point cushion with 15 minutes left, David Furner's ailing Canberra Raiders appeared a sure-fire bet to spring their second upset in as many weeks.

But when you've endured an eight-game losing streak, victories are never straightforward.

It wasn't until Jarrod Croker potted a penalty goal with three minutes left on the clock that the Raiders were sure of a 20-12 win against the Canterbury Bulldogs at Canberra Stadium last night.



The Raiders improved their season record to 3-8 ahead of next weekend's bye.

These two precious premiership points were built on a foundation of resolute defence.

The Raiders burnt a bucket-load of petrol tickets in the opening 40 minutes, tackling themselves to a standstill.

By the full-time hooter, lock Shaun Fensom had racked up more than 60 tackles in a remarkable performance.

Hulking centre Jamal Idris stamped his authority early.

Controversially overlooked by NSW, Idris took out his frustrations with a rag-doll tackle on diminutive fullback Nathan Massey.

He followed that up with a big shoulder charge on 2m man mountain Dane Tilse, forcing the ball loose on both occasions.

The Dogs hammered the Raiders' line for the entire first half.



After 33 minutes, the Bulldogs had been tackled 31 times inside the Raiders' 20m line.

The Raiders needed a GPS to find Canterbury's red zone, failing to register a solitary tackle in the attacking zone during the same time.

Yet it was the hosts who incredibly led 10-0 at the break.

Raiders second-rower Joe Picker made an immediate impact in his first game since round six, grabbing a Sam Williams bomb to set up the opening try in the 11th minute.

Picker stole the ball out of Ben Barba's grasp, flicking the ball through several sets of hands before it eventually found Joel Thompson, who threw a neat dummy to get across the line for a 4-0 lead.

Simple errors continued to put the Raiders under pressure. A spate of dropped balls meant scrambling defence was paramount.

It was hard to see where the Raiders' next points would come from.

Enter Reece Robinson. The unheralded winger latched on to a looping pass from Bulldogs captain Andrew Ryan to race 40m and dive over the line. Jarrod Croker's conversion stretched the advantage to 10 points after 26 minutes.

The Raiders earned a standing ovation from the 12,865 crowd.

The Raiders struck first in the second half when Barba's attempt to deny a Sam Williams 40/20 kick was scooped up by Robinson.

A quick play the ball led to Picker crossing to extend the lead to 16-0.

A Croker penalty goal in the 60th minute made the gap 18 points.

But the Bulldogs wouldn't go away.

A sensational offload from Bulldogs second-rower Frank Pritchard set up Josh Morris in the 65th minute.

And when Barba held off Glen Buttriss and Robinson to run 40m to score, it was game on as the visitors closed to within six points with 10 minutes left.

Raiders five-eighth Josh McCrone botched an easy 15m field-goal attempt, and it wasn't until Croker kicked a penalty in the 77th minute that victory was secured.

The Raiders are expected to get injured playmaker Terry Campese back for their round 13 clash with the North Queensland Cowboys in a fortnight.

Canberra coach David Furner was delighted with his side's effort in defence but admitted there was plenty of work still to be done.

''The game was won on our defence and attitude, it was pleasing to watch,'' Furner said.

''It would have been pretty cruel if we had have lost that game because I thought we were in control for 80 minutes.

''We had a couple of times where we put ourselves under pressure, more than a couple of times, but we just kept fighting for each other.

''We've got to keep winning.''

Raiders backrower Picker will have scans on a possible fractured forearm while Bronson Harrison suffered a shoulder injury.

Compounding the Bulldogs' woes was the loss of prop Aiden Tolman for four to six weeks with a suspected medial ligament strain.

''We prepared well and we were ready for the challenge but unfortunately those options we took when we were attacking their line weren't good enough,'' Bulldogs skipper Andrew Ryan said.

''It was pretty pedestrian really in our attack ... it was very frustrating.'' with AAP

AT A GLANCE

CANBERRA 20 (J Picker R Robinson J Thompson tries J Croker 4 goals) bt CANTERBURY 12 (B Barba J Morris tries S Turner 2 goals) at Canberra Stadium. Referee: Shayne Hayne, Chris James. Crowd: 12,865.

Source: The Canberra Times