Canberra Raiders hang on in Wests Tigers thriller

And then Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart took aim at the critics of his decision to rest club legend Jarrod Croker so he could play his 300^th NRL game at home next week.

Fogarty scored two tries - set up with his own kicks - and then set up another - also with a kick - as the Canberra Raiders got out to an 18-0 lead.

That last one was Jordan Rapana's 100^th NRL try.

But the Tigers produced a miraculous comeback to get in front before a Fogarty penalty goal eventually made it a 20-19 victory for the Green Machine at Campbelltown on Friday night.

It made it seven wins in a row for the Raiders over Wests - and Canberra's seventh win in their past eight games this season.

The Raiders will take that momentum into Jarrod Croker's 300^th NRL game - against the New Zealand Warriors at Canberra Stadium next Friday.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said the Tigers should've won the game off the back of an 8-0 set-restart count in the home side's favour.

He then took aim at the critics of his decision to rest Croker from the Tigers game so he could play the milestone in front of home fans next week.

"It was a risk, but these muppets that have been bagging me - they're all the guys who read the textbooks and read about courageous leadership and they'll talk at corporate functions, but they can't actually execute it," Stuart said.

"What I did was the right thing by all Canberra fans - not to buy tickets and come here - because I wanted to make sure they knew I was resting Jarrod.

"This will be one of the biggest events we've had for a player in Canberra ... it'll be a great event for the club.

"We get nothing. The Raiders get nothing ... but we'll have a great event this week and Jarrod Croker deserves everything he gets next weekend."

But both Raiders hookers will come under the match review committee's scrutiny.

Zac Woolford was put on report for a dangerous tackle on John Bateman, while Tom Starling was put on report for a crusher tackle on Junior Tupou.

Raiders centre Harley Smith-Shields was sent for a head injury assessment in the final 10 minutes.

Tigers second-rower Isaiah Papali'i was put on report for dangerous contact on Fogarty's legs.

Those Fogarty legs were crucial throughout the game as he grubbered twice for himself to score a double.

He then put up a mesmerising bomb for Rapana to score, with Tigers fullback jahream Bula unable to handle it.

The Raiders seemed to be cruising to an 18-0 victory until Starling's sin bin with 12 minutes remaining.

They let in three tries in four minutes, with Bula, ex-Raider John Bateman and then Brandon Wakeham all scoring in a matter of minutes to level it.

Beleaguered Tigers halfback Luke Brooks then slotted a field goal three minutes later to make the extraordinary comeback seemingly complete and the home side in front.

But up stepped Fogarty's boot again.

His attempted field goal went wide, but Tigers second-rower Papali'i slid into Fogarty's legs in the aftermath to give away a penalty directly in front.

Fogarty then made it a 20-19 Raiders game from the kicking tee, with the Raiders surviving a late scare as the Tigers pressed in the closing seconds.

Wests coach Tim Sheens refused to "blow up" about the decision, but didn't seem overly impressed at being 6-4 down on the penalty count - despite having eight set restarts to Canberra's nil.

"I'll make my comments to the referees. I've got a couple of issues for sure," he said.

"I'm not going to blow up - Ricky does that and it costs him $10,000. I'm not going to do that today, but I'll have my say don't worry about that."

AT A GLANCE

CANBERRA RAIDERS 20 (Jamal Fogarty 2, Jordan Rapana tries; Fogarty 4 goals) bt WESTS TIGERS 19 (Jahream Bula, John Bateman, Brandon Wakeham tries; Wakeham 3 goals; Luke Brooks field goal) at Campbelltown. Referee: Gerard Sutton.

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