The Canberra Raiders have finished their 2024 campaign on a high after defeating the St George Illawarra Dragons 26-24 at Kogarah on Saturday afternoon.
Fighting back from an 18-0 deficit inside the opening 11 minutes to extend their record over the joint venture to eight wins from their past ten matches, an audacious kick by Corey Horsburgh in the dying stages saw the Raiders reap the rewards of a victory built on resolve.
Getting off to a dream start with Zac Lomax soaring onto a Ben Hunt bomb and finding Tom Eisenhuth (1st minute) in support, the Dragons continued their attacking assault when Jacob Liddle (9th minute) carried three defenders over the line before making an incisive run in the following set which allowed Hunt to thread through a grubber kick for Jadyn Su'A (11th minute) to establish an 18-0 lead.
The Raiders got in on the point-scoring action with Danny Levi (15th minute) pouncing on a Jamal Fogarty kick only for the Dragons to respond moments later through Lykhan King-Togia (19th minute) who collected his first try in the top grade.
A successful challenge gave the Raiders the field position needed for Xavier Savage (24th minute) to round out the first half scoring as the hosts took a 24-10 lead to the sheds.
Both sides showed greater application to defence after halftime however the Raiders were the only ones to prove as effective in attack with Albert Hopoate (47th minute) outpacing Lomax and Hudson Young (61st minute) bursting into space to narrow the margin to four points heading into the final quarter.
A moment of individual brilliance from Horsburgh (77th minute), who regathered his own grubber kick, gave Kaeo Weekes the opportunity to put the Raiders ahead for the first time with a successful conversion.
Lomax attempted to tie the game up with a two-point field goal on full-time only for his final act as a Dragons player to be charged down, leaving the 11,189 supporters in attendance to lament an improved season undone by a catastrophic choke over the final fortnight.
The win sees the Raiders bring their final win-loss record to 50%, in defiance of pre-season expectations, to remain a mathematical chance of clinching 8th position should the Knights and Dolphins play out a draw in the final match of the home-and-away season tomorrow afternoon.