Andrew Pelechaty reviews the Canberra vs St. George Illawarra game, which – after a poor first half – turned into a decent contest.
Result
Canberra Raiders 20
Tries: (3) Sebastian Kris 45th; Matthew Timoko 62nd; Hudson Young 72nd
Goals: (4) Jarrod Croker 46th, 49th, 63rd; 74th
St. George Illawarra Dragons 14
Tries: (3) Tautau Moga 38th, 77th; Mathew Feagai 53rd
Goals: (1) Zac Lomax 59th
Field Goal: N/A
Report
It was a scrappy opening half in Canberra, with both sides squandering scoring chances. At one point Canberra forced three straight goal-line drop-outs, but couldn’t convert them.
The Dragons finally broke the 0-0 deadlock through Tautau Moga in the right corner, overpowering multiple Raiders defenders. The Dragons went into the break up 4-0. It was the first time Canberra were held scoreless in the first half since Round 19, 2021 against Parramatta (which Canberra won 12-10).
It was a disappointing display from both sides: Canberra were coming off an important win in Brisbane and the Dragons had comfortably beaten The Dolphins and narrowly lost to the Gold Coast.
Seb Kris put the Raiders on the board early in the second half, with Canberra benefiting from a silly penalty from Jack De Belin on Tom Starling. Jarrod Croker converted to give Canberra a 6-4 lead.
Croker extended the lead to 8-4 after a late hit on Jamal Fogarty.
Nick Cotric was sin binned in the 53rd minute after holding back Jack Bird. The Dragons made them pay immediately through Mathew Feagai in the left corner. The score remained 8-8 after Lomax missed the conversion.
The Dragons took the lead 10-8 after an offside penalty and were starting to dominate Canberra.
The Raiders hit back with Matt “Three Knees” Timoko scooting from dummy half. Croker converted to give Canberra a 14-10 lead. Though Cotric was off for good with a hamstring issue, with Corey Harawira-Naera replacing him.
Canberra seemingly sealed the game when Hudson Young stripped the ball one-on-one and ran 85 metres to score. Croker converted to give Canberra a 20-10 lead.
The Dragons kept themselves in the game when Moga intercepted a Wighton pass, running 45 metres to score. Lomax missed the crucial conversion, keeping Canberra’s lead to six with a minute left. Goalkicking had a big say in this game – with Croker kicking 4/4 and Lomax 1/4.
Again, the Dragons fell short of another win, while Canberra nearly blew a game they looked like winning comfortably. The Raiders head into the bye with a 3-4 record, while the 2-4 Dragons have over a week’s break before facing the Sydney Roosters in their traditional Anzac Day clash (Tuesday April 25).
PLAYER OF THE YEAR POINTS
Embed from Getty Images3 – Matthew Timoko (Raiders)
2 – Hudson Young (Raiders)
1 – Tautau Moga (Dragons)
