Points aplenty as Raiders edge past Bulldogs

The Raiders held off a fast-finishing Bulldogs side in a 64-point thriller to open Magic Round on Friday night, coming out 34-30 winners to secure their fourth win on the trot. 

Tries from Jordan Rapana early in each half helped the Raiders, while lock Corey Horsburgh put in another powerful performance which included 174 run metres and four tackle breaks. 

Up by 10 with four minutes to play, the Raiders had to endure a nervous finish when the Bulldogs were awarded a penalty try after Hayze Perham was tackled off the ball metres from the line, but held on to secure their fourth win in a row. 

The first half saw action aplenty at both ends, with seven tries scored in an opening 40 minutes in which the Raiders took a 22-18 lead into the sheds. 

Jordan Rapana scored on the opening set, with Xavier Savage, Matthew Timoko and Hudson Young adding further tries for the Green Machine, and a Jacob Preston double all that kept the Bulldogs in the contest. 

With the game hanging in the balance at half-time, Rapana grabbed his second four minutes into the second stanza, before Jarrod Croker's effort on 57 minutes, which he also converted, put them up 32-18.

Matt Burton gave the Dogs a sniff with 18 minutes to go, when he unleashed a monster bomb which went unclaimed before Jacob Kiraz grabbed the scraps and offloaded to Jake Averillo who grabbed his second. 

A Jarrod Croker penalty gave some breathing room, before the penalty try set up a tense finish, which ended when Rapana fielded a towering Burton bomb with seconds left on the clock.