The Raiders Jersey Flegg side suffered a 30 – 20 loss against the Dragons at home despite holding an early lead.
The Dragons cracked the scoreboard first on the back of early penalties with winger Savelio Tamale crossing over in the third minute.
The Green Machine answered back through second-rower Joseph Roddy who broke through the St. George line to get on the board. Peyton Jenkins successfully converted the try to level the score at 6 – 6.
The Raiders kept applying pressure with winger Siamani Leuluai crashing over in the corner to give Canberra a 10 – 6 lead.
A Raiders’ error saw Tamale cross for his second try of the game, tying the game at 10 – 10.
The Dragons used their newfound momentum to score another two tries through Benjamin Rumble and Campbell Walters to earn a 20 – 10 lead at the half-time break.
Canberra was the first team to score in the second half with centre Peyton Jenkins getting over the line, narrowing the score to 20 – 14.
Consecutive errors proved costly as the Dragons answered back through halfback Nicholas Quinn, extending the lead to 26 – 14.
The Raiders showed resilience with second-rower Jaxon Lavender scoring the Raiders’ fourth try of the match. Keahn Skipps converted the try to make the score 26 – 20.
However, the Dragons regained momentum with winger Cooper Roberts scoring in the 67th minute to extend the score to 30 – 20.
The Raiders are currently 12th on the ladder and will look to bounce back against the first-placed Roosters next week at Wentworth Park, Sydney.
The Raiders will be looking for revenge after falling to the Roosters in their round two matchup earlier in the year.
Match: Raiders v Dragons
Round 16 -
home Team
Raiders
12th Position
away Team
Dragons
9th Position
Venue: Raiders Belconnen, Canberra