CANBERRA RAIDERS 24 ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS 16
TOM SMITH, GIO Stadium, Sunday

XAVIER SAVAGE scored a second-half double before Tom Starling sealed Canberra’s gritty win over St George Illawarra in a rainy battle of the cellar dwellers.

These two teams entered round 17 occupying the last two places on the ladder and the Dragons carried a slender half-time lead before Savage conjured two intercept tries.

Then Starling punished a Tyrell Sloan error with five minutes left on the clock to snap the Raiders’ three-game losing streak and keep their season alive.

The visitors came close through Setu Tu, Dylan Egan and Valentine Holmes before Sloan eventually opened the scoring, scooping up a Zac Hosking spill to sprint 70 metres to the stripe.

Toby Couchman somehow denied Ethan Strange but halves partner Ethan Sanders soon supplied Hudson Young with a smart grubber kick.

But Tu beat Savelio Tamale to a Daniel Atkinson bomb to secure Saints’ lead at the break.

Five minutes after the restart, Savage pounced on a Holmes knock-on to go the length of the field for the go-ahead try.

His next intercept was more controversial, with Simi Sasagi – back from a calf injury – appearing to bat Kyle Flanagan’s pass forward before Savage raced 80 metres.

Holmes handed Sloan his second to shave the gap to two points, but Starling scampered over to make sure of Canberra’s win.

RAIDERS: 1 Kaeo Weekes, 2 Savelio Tamale, 3 Simi Sasagi, 4 Matthew Timoko, 5 Xavier Savage, 6 Ethan Strange, 7 Ethan Sanders, 8 Corey Horsburgh, 9 Owen Pattie, 10 Joseph Tapine, 11 Hudson Young, 12 Zac Hosking, 13 Jayden Brailey. Subs: 14 Tom Starling, 15 Ata Mariota, 16 Morgan Smithies, 17 Sebastian Kris, 18 Chevy Stewart (not used), 19 Jake Clydsdale (not used)

Tries: Young (20), Savage (46, 56), Starling (75); Goals: Sanders 4/4

DRAGONS: 1 Clint Gutherson, 2 Setu Tu, 3 Mathew Feagai, 4 Valentine Holmes, 5 Tyrell Sloan, 6 Daniel Atkinson, 7 Kyle Flanagan, 8 Loko Jnr Pasifiki Tonga, 9 Damien Cook, 10 Toby Couchman, 11 Dylan Egan, 12 Hamish Stewart, 13 Ryan Couchman. Subs: 14 Jacob Liddle, 15 Emre Guler, 16 Josh Kerr, 17 Luciano Leilua, 18 Jacob Halangahu (not used), 20 Lyhkan King-Togia (not used)

Tries: Sloan (9, 71), Tu (31); Goals: Holmes 2/3

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 6-6, 6-10; 12-10, 18-10, 18-16, 24-16

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Raiders: Xavier Savage; Dragons: Toby Couchman

Penalty count: 2-4; Half-time: 6-10; Referee: Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski; Attendance: 12,531