As much as a fan may not want to admit it, based on the fact that the St George Illawarra Dragons have not won in Canberra for the past 13 years, you would describe it as a hoodoo – a trend that continued earlier tonight, as the Canberra Raiders maintained the rub of the green against the Dragons in the nation’s capital, winning 30-17.
On the back of a Reece Robinson double, the Dragons just could not break the hoodoo and will have to wait another year to get a chance to do so, as the Raiders fans got a taste of life after Josh Dugan.
Robinson seems to love scoring tries against the Dragons, scoring two earlier today and three in the corresponding fixture last season – getting praise from Raiders coach David Furner as a result.
“We didn’t hold a lot of space for him there to really open up the defence, but look, that was a super effort,” he said.
The Raiders scored one of the more bizarre tries you will see, with the effort being billed as the “Steven Bradbury try”, after 5 players fell or slipped in pursuit of the ball, only for Reece Robinson to casually stroll in & plant the ball down for a try.
In a late re-shuffle, the game also saw the return of centre Blake Ferguson, who played well without excelling.
“We made it clear to him that his actions were going to speak louder than his words,” captain David Shillington said after the match.
“I thought he was great and he’s followed through with what he said.”
The game was not without controversy, however, as the obstruction rule again reared its ugly head, albeit resulting in the correct decision under the new rules – after Brett Morris was denied a try in the corner, because captain Ben Creagh initiated contact as a decoy runner with the defender 2 men across.
“I’m certainly not going to go down that path, I’m not that keen to cop a fine, but I’m sure everyone saw that,” Price said after the match.
“They would be momentum changes but at the end of the day we’re not good enough to overcome that at the moment.”
3. Reece Robinson
2. Jarrod Croker
1. Trent Merrin