Two second half tries to Nick Cotric has seen the Green Machine come from behind to claim a 28-22 win over the Bulldogs in Bega.
The winger was the beneficiary of two Jack Wighton assists as the Raiders made it two wins from two this pre-season.
The Raiders made plenty of meters early on and were rewarded in the seventh minute when Royce Hunt, who was starting at prop, muscled his way over the line.
Kerrod Holland struck back for the Bulldogs as Josh Jackson did well to offload before quick hands from Will Hopoate set up the Canterbury center.
The Bulldogs took the lead through Aidan Tolman as the experienced prop scored down the right edge before Holland grabbed his second of the afternoon in the 30th minute.
Reimis Smith gave the Bulldogs a 22-6 lead at halftime as he pounced on a loose ball and ran 60m to score.
The second half started slowly as the two sides competed for field position. However, the Raiders scored the first points of the half as Nick Cotric gathered a quick pass from Jack Wighton, playing in the halves for the first time since 2014.
Cotric made it a quick double as the winger once again found himself in space thanks to Wighton as the margin narrowed to six points.
With momentum firmly in the Raider’s favour, Canterbury’s Rhyse Martin was sent to bin for holding Sam Williams too long in a tackle.
With Cotric taken off the field, Bailey Simonsson move to the left wing and showed his strength to score on the back of a good pass from Croker. With a chance to level the scores with five minutes remaining, Croker slotted the sideline conversion.
The deadlock only lasted a minute as Tony Satini scored down the right as Hudson Young managed to get an offload away to the winger. Croker’s form from the kicking tee continued with yet another sideline conversion.
Canberra Raiders 28 (Tries: N Cotric 2, R Hunt, B Simonsson, T Satini; Goals: J Croker 4) d Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 22 (Tries: K Holland 2, A Tolman, R Smith ; Goals: K Holland 2, N Meaney 1 )
