NRL: Canberra Raiders hold on to beat Gold Coast Titans

The victory in front of 11,659 fans at Canberra Stadium on Saturday moved the Raiders up to equal-fifth on 24 competition points just behind ladder-leaders Penrith.

"It's pleasing, but I still think we've got a lot of improvement in us," co-captain Elliott Whitehead said post-game.

"We've got seven games till the finals and hopefully we can keep on winning."

Coach Ricky Stuart acknowledged it was a "tough win" but had a message in response to criticism about the Raiders' narrow victories.

"I don't care," he said. "Even when we're losing I don't care what people say, because I know what we've got here, and I know the character of the individual and I know what type of team we are."

The Raiders were switched on from the get-go, making the most of a repeat set in their opening possession to set up winger Albert Hopoate in the corner.

The Titans meanwhile were dealt an early blow with Phillip Sami ruled out in their pre-game warm-ups, forcing Jojo Fifita onto the wing on the same side Canberra attacked to score first.

Canberra looked keen to throw the ball around in the crisp conditions in the sun. If anything, they might've been a bit too keen in moments.

Jack Wighton was denied a try piercing the line due to a Corey Horsburgh obstruction, however the Raiders kept the pressure on and were soon rewarded.

Fullback Sebastian Kris found his wings in the air to fly over the pack and score off a Jamal Fogarty bomb, and extend the home side's advantage to 12-0.

Gold Coast were struggling to defend repeat sets, making twice as many tackles as Canberra.

The momentum swung to the visitors though when an Emre Guler crusher tackle - which was put on report - allowed them into Raiders territory.

Quick dummy-half play by Sam Verrills caught Canberra napping on the short-side and David Fifita finished a crafty Alofiana Khan-Pereira grubber with a try in the 22nd minute.

Raiders prop Pasami Saulo's game ended with 80 seconds left in the half after he copped a shoulder from Jaimin Jolliffe which sent him off for a head injury assessment.

Saulo walked off the field, and even smiled as he did, though he was unable to return with a category two concussion.

Then came a little drama from the Bunker. The Raiders are not used to getting the rub of the green when it comes to officiating calls, but had some luck on Saturday.

David Fifita was denied his second try after Bunker officials deemed he had unfairly pushed Fogarty to get to the ball - a decision which stumped commentators.

"I don't even know if he pushed him," rugby league great Steve Roach said. "[Fogarty] turned his back and stopped. What's [Fifita] supposed to do?"

Titans skipper Kieran Foran was seen complaining to match referee Todd Smith and shaking his head furiously on the walk to the sheds with his side trailing 12-6.

Foran couldn't have been mad long though because the footy gods must've seen pity on the Titans to start the second half.

Smith missed a clear knock-on by Khan-Pereira under a Gold Coast kick, which was blamed on Kris, giving the Titans prime position to score - and they did through Jojo Fifita on the right wing.

The Titans certainly appeared to have the wind in their sails while the Raiders needed something special to reset.

Canberra got exactly what they needed with a spectacular 80-metre Matt Timoko four-pointer.

An alert pick-up by Jordan Rapana following Khan-Pereira's failed try-scoring attempt, led to a crucial 12-point swing to ignite the Raiders.

Blues fans would have had their hearts in their mouth when second-rower Hudson Young appeared injured in a charge-down alongside Wighton, but he was able to shake it off.

The Raiders just couldn't capitalise on their opportunities in that period with errors costly.

The Titans reduced the deficit to two when Khan-Pereira made no mistake on his second chance on the left edge.

A much-needed Young try and a penalty goal from Jarrod Croker should have been enough to seal victory for Canberra, but a 79th minute Tino Fa'asuamaleaui score ensured fans would sweat till the last second.

The 'Faders' sledges wouldn't be used on Saturday though as the Raiders just held on in a thriller.

On the contentious Bunker decision, Titans interim coach Jim Lenihan didn't blame the officials for his side's defeat, but said it didn't help.

"I'm certainly disappointed we put ourselves in a position where we allowed bad luck to walk into the room and dance around," he said.

"It's almost a silly situation where if David runs into the back of Jamal and falls over, we get a penalty, but if Dave's trying to contest for the ball and get people out of his way that are trying to stop him from getting to the ball, he gets penalised.

"But in the big scheme of things, it certainly had a major part to play."

"We just didn't control the ball all that great," Lenihan added.

"We had a lot of discipline errors in yardage when we were defending and just gave them an easy way out."

AT A GLANCE

CANBERRA RAIDERS 26 (Albert Hopoate, Sebastian Kris, Matthew Timoko, Hudson Young tries; Jarrod Croker 5 goals) bt GOLD COAST TITANS 22 (David Fifita, Jojo Fifita, Alofiana Khan-Pereira, Tino Fa'asuamaleaui tries; Tanah Boyd 3 goals) at Canberra Stadium.

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