Raiders on high after hoodoo NRL victory (AAP)3 July 2012, 1:34 pmThey were dubbed the "hat-trick of hannibals" for the mass of bandages around the heads as they helped Canberra to a hoodoo-extending 22-18 NRL win over St George Illawarra on Monday.
But prop Dane Tilse says the commitment shown by teammates Travis Waddell, Blake Ferguson and Edrick Lee in playing on through bloody head wounds is just the stuff the Raiders need to kickstart their lacklustre season.
Along with forward Joel Thompson, who played with a sore hand, the injury-hit Raiders fought from 18-16 down with three minutes to go to break the Dragons' hearts and consign them to a 12th straight year of losses at Canberra Stadium.
The last time the Red V won there was in 2000, when now Raiders coach David Furner and both his assistants Justin Morgan and Andrew McFadden were all still playing.
Tilse, who was inspirational in the forwards notching 164m and 27 tackles, said belief among the squad was high heading into the game but said it was the injured Raiders who demonstrated it out on the field.
"You could tell the boys were really committed there," he said.
"Ferguson had a massive head clash and probably broke his nose, so it was great to see him stay on the field.
"We had Travis and Eddy hurt their noses as well and Joely T had a bad hand, but he really dug in for us."
It's that courage and attitude Furner wants them to take down to Melbourne when they meet the ladder-leading Storm on Saturday.
A short five-day turnaround is also against them, although they're likely to be boosted by the return of skipper David Shillington from State of Origin duty, while injured duo Bronson Harrison and Shaun Berrigan are possible starters.
Furner was full of praise for the Raiders' effort against the Dragons, rating their completion rate in the first half the best of the year.
The key now is to find some consistency, with the Raiders not having won back-to-back since this time last year.
"If we play that kind of football, we're going to be a good chance of winning more games," he said.
"We can build on that from last night and I think we need to."
Source: Rugby League
Topic: Raiders on high after hoodoo NRL victory (AAP)
