Canberra five-eighth Jack Wighton had an afternoon to forget on the eve of an anticipated NSW recall as the Raiders fell to a 12-10 defeat against St George Illawarra on Sunday.
Wighton struggled to impose himself on the game – his first since missing State of Origin II with COVID-19 – and was way below par, making four errors and enduring a torrid time with the boot at Wollongong’s WIN Stadium.
The 29-year-old gifted the Dragons their first try of the afternoon when he tapped a short dropout back into the hands of Talatau Amone and also failed to make touch from a penalty kick with the game in the balance.
The Raiders had a gilt-edged chance to snatch victory in the last six seconds when Joe Tapine was tackled five metres out from the St George Illawarra line.
Jack Bird and Ben Hunt deliberately laid over the top of the Raiders prop and while signalling a six-again, referee Peter Gough didn’t award Canberra a penalty to potentially tie the game up.
The victory moves the Dragons into eighth spot and leaves the Raiders languishing four points behind them in 11th.
In atrocious conditions in front of 7069 fans, Amone got his first try of the season when Wighton batted back a short dropout into the Dragons’ playmaker’s grasp in the 18th minute.
Zac Lomax missed the conversion but added a penalty after another Raiders dropout failed to travel past 10 metres.
Canberra hit back through fullback Xavier Savage before Moses Suli burst his way just prior to halftime to give the Red V a 12-4 lead at the break.
Wighton fumbled the opening kick-off of the first half and only some smart defensive positioning from Savage prevented the Dragons from extending their lead when Andrew McCullough was held up after a dart over the line from close range.
The Raiders, playing with the wind behind their backs in the second half, went close through Tapine before Hudson Young cut a sharp line to score in the 54th minute.
Fogarty managed to add the conversion from right in front to set up a tight finish.
Wighton’s handling let them down once again and with five minutes to go he failed to find touch to get the Raiders out of trouble.
Canberra did get one last crack at the Dragons’ line but Tapine was prevented from playing the ball as Hunt and Bird held the Raiders prop down, prompting an outburst of frustration from captain Elliott Whitehead.
