The Raiders have moved four points clear of the chasing pack in the battle for the remaining top-eight spots, following a 36-24 win over a stubborn Bulldogs outfit on Sunday.
After an opening 66 minutes in which the gap between the two sides was never more than six points, Jordan Rapana struck the telling blow with a four-pointer that sent a wave of relief across GIO Stadium in Canberra, before Josh Papali'i put the icing on the cake with a try under the posts.
The try capped off a brilliant game from Rapana, who set up another three tries and broke the line three times from fullback.
Remarkably the 12-point gap was the Raiders' biggest winning margin in 2023 and with just two regular season rounds remaining and four points up for grabs, it puts the Green Machine within touching distance of the post season.
In what was one of their better performances of the year, the Bulldogs simply refused to go away for the first hour, with star recruit Viliame Kikau coming up with several big plays and Jake Averillo putting in a strong showing from the back.
Canberra centres Matthew Timoko and Jarrod Croker both got over for first-half tries, but on each occasion the visitors scored next, with rookie wing Blake Wilson crossing out on the left before Jacob Kiraz juggled the ball and regathered just in time to ground it five from the break.
Jarrod Croker 31st minute try
With both goalkickers on song it was 12-all at the half.
Timoko grabbed his second nine minutes after the return of play, but it was quickly cancelled out by Toby Sexton who fended through Hudson Young to get over from close range.
As both sides traded blows in the second half, the Raiders appeared to be slowly gaining an advantage and began to enjoy more time on the ball.
Toby Sexton 55th minute try
Nick Cotric battled over to give his side the lead again on the hour mark and from there they never looked back, with Rapana's try following and Papali'i sealing the deal.
Liam Knight scored a consolation try inside the final two minutes, but it was too late to threaten the outcome.
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Match Snapshot
- The Raiders picked up their 13th win of the year sixth at GIO Stadium.
- Matthew Timoko scored a double and carried the ball for 151 metres.
- Corey Horsburgh left the field for a HIA in the final 15 minutes, while Albert Hopoate suffered a ribs injury.
- The Bulldogs lost Raymond Faitala-Mariner to injury in the warm up, which saw Jayden Okunbor join the bench and Hayze Perham come in as 18th man.
- Matt Burton was put on report for a high tackle on Josh Papali'i in the 27th minute.
- Raiders fullback Jordan Rapana and Bulldogs hooker Reed Mahoney then went on report within minutes of each other in the dying stages of the first half.
- The Raiders have won their past eight games against the Bulldogs, while Canterbury-Bankstown have not won at GIO Stadium since 2015.
Play of the Game
A lovely piece of link-up play from two of the Kiwi connection in Canberra's backline, with Jordan Rapana putting on a huge fend and some footwork to break the line and find his young teammate looming in support.
Matt Timoko 11th minute try
What They Said
"I thought it was heaps better than definitely last week and probably a few of our performances. I liked a lot of things about our start, but we are still making too many errors and penalties. I thought [both Matt Burton and Toby Sexton] were good, when we got our chances we were good, to score 24 points against a really good team like Canberra is not easy." – Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo.
Bulldogs: Round 25
"It was going try-for-try off fundamentals that we have got to fix. But there was obviously a lot of pressure on these blokes today because I was talking about winning, we needed to win today, and I was really pleased with how they handled that." – Raiders coach Ricky Stuart.
Raiders: Round 25
What's Next
The Raiders remain at home in Round 26 to take on the red-hot Broncos, knowing a win will mean they are through to the post-season, while the Bulldogs head back to Sydney to host the Sea Eagles.