NRL: Canberra Raiders hang on against fast-finishing St George Illawarra Dragons to keep finals hopes alive

Despite being without their suspended coach Ricky Stuart, the Raiders held on against a fast-finishing St George Illawarra to win 24-22 at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.

They appeared to be cruising to victory with 15 minutes to go, but two late Dragons tries gave them a scare after leading by 12 points.

You could picture Stuart on his couch at home chewing his nails as the clock ticked down, with White joking Stuart's dog Twinkles would've been looking for a cupboard to hide behind.

The Raiders' win kept their finals hopes alive as they need to win all of their remaining games to have any chance of sneaking into the top eight.

They did it without their star prop Joe Tapine (ribs), who could be back next week to bolster their forward pack.

"He's a chance," White simply said.

They'll also welcome back winger Nick Cotric from his one-week suspension.

But they do have to play NRL match review committee roulette with co-captain Elliott Whitehead put on report for a dangerous tackle on Blake Lawrie.

It was a bizarre incident, with Whitehead pulling Lawrie over himself rather than performing an illegal tackle, and there didn't seem to be much in it, but with the NRL currently cracking down on hip-drop tackles it could come under scrutiny.

They had a couple of injury scares with Tom Starling (arm) and Adam Elliott (ribs), but both were expected to be fine for next week's must-win clash against Newcastle.

"While there's a chance we'll keep fighting," White vowed.

"I just said to the boys there, just keep punching away. We just keep turning up and while there's a chance we'll keep fighting for it."

They made a brilliant start, with World Cup bolter Hudson Young getting on the end of a Zac Woolford grubber out of dummy half.

But a couple of Green Machine defensive lapses allowed Dragons five-eighth Talatau Amone to score the first two tries of his hat-trick to put the visitors in control.

That came off the back of their halfback Ben Hunt, whose kicking game proved to be influential - for both sides.

He produced a 40-20, a rare 20-40 and a forced drop-out on the positive side for the Dragons.

But Raiders prop Ryan Sutton also charged down one of his kicks to score a try and his second-half restart went out on the full and eventually led to Albert Hopoate scoring what proved to be the winner.

That set up Canberra's comfortable 24-12 lead before Amone scored his third and then setup Tautau Moga to create a thrilling finish.

Raiders fullback Xavier Savage was excellent in his return, setting up two tries and becoming a constant threat chipping into the Green Machine's attacking line.

His pace led to a Jordan Rapana try and he put in a deft grubber for Hopoate to run onto.

While some pundits felt the top eight was now set, Dragons coach Anthony Griffin gave the Raiders a chance of forcing their way in.

"They're a strong side. The Raiders have a big forward pack with a lot of experience. They get Tapine back," he said.

"There's a struck match between a lot of teams from 10 to six [on the ladder].

"For the Raiders, if a window opens for them ... they'd be a chance."

AT A GLANCE

CANBERRA RAIDERS 24 (Hudson Young, Jordan Rapana, Ryan Sutton, Albert Hopoate tries; Jamal Fogarty 3 goals) bt ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS 22 (Talatau Amone 3, Tautau Moga tries; Zac Lomax 3 goals) at Canberra Stadium. Referee: Adam Gee. Crowd: 11,216.