Robinson has sealed a 22-18 NRL win for the Raiders against the DragonsTHREE tries to Canberra fullback Reece Robinson has secured a 22-18 NRL round 17 win for the Raiders against St George Illawarra Dragons. 
THE dreaded Canberra curse started for the Dragons three hours before kick-off yesterday when a bus carrying the Dragons Army broke down on the side of the freeway in Goulburn.
It was just a shame the fans still made it to the nation's capital, albeit midway through the second half, to witness the Dragons crash to a heart-breaking 22-18 defeat in the dying stages.
The last time the Dragons won in Canberra was the year 2000, when Marie-Jose Perec chickened out of her 400m race with Cathy Freeman at the Sydney Olympics, Gladiator won the Oscar for Best Picture.
But three tries from Raiders fullback Reece Robinson made sure one of league's longest-running hoodoos continued.
Young Dragons hooker Mitch Rein, who was still in primary school when the Dragons saluted in Canberra, looked to have pinched victory with two second-half tries to put his side ahead.
But Robinson sealed the deal when he strolled over with three minutes on the clock to spark wild celebrations amongst the 10,462 who braved the freezing conditions.
The loss now leaves the proud Dragons four points adrift of the top eight with two months remaining.
Trailing 16-6 at halftime, the Dragons needed to score first after the break, and they did when Mitch Rein threw a huge dummy and ducked under a tackle of Tom Learoyd-Lahrs to score.
Soward produced a 40/20 kick to put the Dragons on the attack, and just when they looked to have bombed their chance of more points, Rein snuck over.
The Dragons continued to pile on the pressure, only for Cooper to be crunched in a tackle by Earl, then a Nightingale grubber to dribble over the dead-ball line.
But they were rewarded when Rein crashed over from dummy-half under the posts to give the Dragons the lead in the 68th minute and set up a thrilling finish.
The four-pointer was celebrated by the Dragons fans who finally arrived at the ground just after the hour.
Earlier, the Raiders scored first through winger Edrick Lee who crashed over in the left-hand corner as the home side enjoyed three consecutive sets.
Both teams played it safe but struggled for field position before a Dragons penalty for a late tackle on Jason Nightingale gifted the visitors a fresh set on the halfway line.
And it was former Raiders winger Bronx Goodwin who scored for the Dragons after the visitors showed good hands to spread the ball right to left. Jamie Soward slotted the conversion from the sideline to level the scores.
Just when the Dragons started to look like they were getting on top, Canberra hit back with a try to Reece Robinson in the 35th minute.
Jarrod Croker stripped the ball from Daniel Vidot in a great one-on-one tackle to put the Raiders on the attack.
Matt Cooper produced a try-saving tackle on a flying Josh Papalii _ and Nightingale was unlucky to have been ruled to knock a ball over the dead-ball line for a drop-out _ but it was inevitable the Raiders would score.
Canberra then went further ahead when Joel Thompson hit a gap and send Robinson racing 50m for his second in the space of as many minutes.
Dragons players complained Nightingale and Vidot, who were both in hot pursuit, were impeded by Lee towards the end of their chase. But the complaints fell on deaf ears and the Raiders went to the break with a handy 16-6 lead.
Sandor Earl, who only joined the club from Penrith on Thursday, was rushed straight into the starting side at the expense of winger Dimitri Pelo.
CANBERRA RAIDERS 22 (R Robinson 3, E Lee tries; J Croker 3 goals) bt
ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA 18 (M Rein 2, B Goodwin tries; J Soward 3 goals) at Canberra Stadium. Referee: Jared Maxwell, Adam Devcich. Crowd: 10,462.
Source: Daily Telegraph
Topic: Canberra Keep Hoodoo Alive With Late Win
