The Dragons Knock On Effect NSW Cup outfit were unable to make it four wins on the trot after falling to the Canberra Raiders 24-20 at WIN Stadium on Friday evening.
The visitors leapt out to an 18-6 half-time lead before a pair of tries in the space of four minutes midway through the second half brought the Dragons right back into it.
The hosts were unable to find a potential match-winner in a frantic final minute as the Raiders held on for a key win.
Bronx Goodwin’s men were boosted by the late inclusion of Jack Bird who was named for his first Knock On Effect NSW Cup outing since 2015 as he makes his way back from an ongoing knee issue.
It took less than three minutes for the Dragons to strike with 18-year-old halfback Lyhkan King-Togia slicing through off a Zane Musgrove offload and showing some serious pace before finding Jackson Shereb with a one-handed unload back on the inside for a four-pointer.
Alex Lobb knocked over the conversion to give the hosts an early six-point advantage.
Canberra answered shortly after off a penalty via winger Jed Stuart who gathered in an unpredictable, cross-field kick and stretched his way to the line down the left edge to make it 6-4.
The Raiders threatened to go back-to-back moments later if not for a Bird cover effort snuffing out an in-field Nick Cotric kick.
A pair of King-Togia forced dropouts put the Dragons back on the attack but the Canberra defence remained stout and managed to repel the raid.
An obstruction saved the Dragons from conceding their second of the night just short of the 25-minute mark after Raiders five-eighth Josh James poured through an illegally-created gap.
Dragons middle forward Jacob Webster was taken from the field the following set for a head injury assessment.
The Raiders earnt their first lead of the contest after centre Brad Morkos pounced on a fifth-tackle grubber in the right corner to make it 8-6 just shy of the half-hour mark.
A Xavier Savage break put the Raiders back on the attack the following set with another fifth-tackle grubber catching the scrambling Dragons defenders out and producing another try through Jaxon Lavender.
Savage took the goal-kicking duties over from James but their converting woes continued with the score remaining 12-6 in the visitors’ favour.
Savage limped from the field minutes before half-time after pulling up on a break with an apparent leg injury forcing Cotric to shift to the back and Morkos onto the wing.
Morkos reeled in a short-side flick pass and sped 60 metres downfield for his second less than 90 seconds prior to the break as Justin Giteau’s men raced out to an 18-6 edge as halfback Mitch Henderson took over the goal-kicking duties.
Tautau Moga did not come back out for the second period due to injury with Ben Johnson replacing him in the centres.
A Zach Herring banana kick forced a dropout 15 minutes into the second half but the Canberra defence continued to hold strong as the visitors’ advantage remained at a dozen.
The Dragons remained unperturbed and were straight back on the charge thanks to Haele Finau and Hamish Stewart linking for a line break and setting the platform for Treigh Stewart to streak through off a Bird inside ball and cut the lead to a converted try.
Alex Lobb skied above his opposite the following set to swallow a King-Togia kick and score to cut the lead back to two entering the final 15 minutes.
Several powerful carries followed by an escort penalty the next set put the Dragons back on the front foot before an ill-timed error halted the hosts’ momentum.
The hopes of a Dragons comeback were dealt a serious blow entering the final five minutes with Cotric motoring close to 80 metres downfield to dive over and make it 24-16.
Bird went aerial to take in a short kick-off and lay the platform for Max Feagai to power past his opposite and step past the fullback to cut it back to four and set up a grandstand finish, however, a late attacking raid proved fruitless as the Raiders held on for a pivotal 24-20 win.
