The Toyota Forklifts Canberra Raiders went down to the Bulldogs 14-10 at GIO Stadium on Thursday night in tough weather conditions.
The match marked a special milestone for Ricky Stuart, who coached his 300th game for the Raiders on Thursday night.
The Raiders came off a tough loss to the Warriors last week and were ready to bounce back and showcase the skills last earnt them their title as the reigning minor premiers. With Bulldogs fresh off a bye, fans were prepared for a competitive match-up.
Matt Burton kicked off the action in wet weather conditions with Josh Papalii taking the first ball.
Raiders winger Savelio Tamale was the first to score, crossing over in the corner in the first five minutes put the Raiders in front early. Ethan Sanders followed up with a clean conversion for a 6-0 lead.
Bulldogs were next to score with Crichton sending a quick offload to Connor Tracey to get him over the line. The Bulldogs missed the conversion but were gifted a penalty goal minutes later to even the score at 6-all.
The Raiders were left with 12 men after unfortunately losing Papalii to the sin bin from a high tackle. Kaeo Weekes came back with a try saving take as the home side continued to put up a defensive fight. Another penalty in front put the Dogs two-points in front but the Raiders held on and saved a quick line break by Burton.
Canberra continued to do an impressive job as fatigue was setting in and defended their line set after set in the pouring rain to hold the Bulldogs to an 8-6 lead at halftime.
The players were fired up going into the second half. Slippery conditions resulted in dropped balls and scrappy tackles from both sides.
With just under 10 minutes left, a line break from Lachlan Galvin gave Jacob Preston the opportunity to slide under the posts and put the Bulldogs in front 14-6 after a successful conversion.
This fuelled the Raiders, with Hudson Young splitting the defence to send Savelio Tamale over in the corner. Sanders' conversion hit the upright, leaving the scores at 14-10 with 5 minutes to go.
Kaeo Weekes returned a kick with momentum, which put them back within scoring range. As the crowd got excited, four points was all the home side needed to level the score, however the Bulldogs defence was too strong.
The Canberra Raiders suffered a narrow loss, going down to the Bulldogs 14-10 in the wet conditions. The Green Machine are back at home next Sunday to take on the Cronulla Sharks and improve upon what was an impressive defensive game.
