St George-Illawarra Dragons vs Canberra Raiders

The St George-Illawarra Dragons will rage against the dying of their season’s light when they take on the Canberra Raiders at WIN Stadium this evening. Join us for live scores and commentary from 5.30pm AEST.
Some streaks seem just about impossible to break, and the Raiders winning record against the Dragons is one that would make the Maroons jealous.
Never mind the famous hoodoo of 11 straight losses endured by St George-Illawarra at Canberra Stadium; even at home, the statistics are damning.
With just one win from the last six games at either Kogarah or Wollongong, the Dragons just cannot seem to get the better of the Raiders.
They’ll have another crack in Round 20, and will do so buoyed by a memorable Golden Point victory over league leaders the Rabbitohs last week.
The Dragons played as well as they have all season in that contest, and if they can carry that form into this week they’ll like their chances of making it two in a row. They’ll have to if they harbour any hopes of a miracle recovery this season.
All eyes will be on Dragons fullback Josh Dugan, whose contract with the Raiders was torn up after the now-infamous Breezer Rebellion earlier this year.
Dugan has been in killer form since being thrown a lifeline by the Dragons, easily their best player – last week against the Rabbitohs alone he managed 18 tackle breaks, two off-loads and 28 runs for 241m. He’ll be key to their chances once again.
For the Raiders part, a decimated backline that has seen them lose the likes of Blake Ferguson, Edrick Lee, Sandor Earl, Jack Wighton and, I suppose, Dugan, has so far not been enough to stymie their chances at finals footy.
They sit in eighth position and have made it there on the back of a perfect home record in 2013, with eight wins from eight home appearances.
The return of Terry Campese after about a million years (or thereabouts) on the sideline has been a godsend to the Raiders.
The maestro-like five-eighth has to his name 12 try assists in as many games, and he runs the show with one of the best kicking and passing games in the NRL.
His combination with Josh McCrone is one of the more polished halves partnerships in the NRL, and this will give the Raiders a significant advantage over the Dragons’ makeshift combo of hooker-by-trade Nathan Fien and 20-year-old rookie Adam Quinlan.
But their away record, as is so often the case with the Raiders, cannot be ignored – with just one win from nine games, it’s about as sketchy as it gets.
So there you have it – a team that never wins away from home, versus a team that never beats the team that never wins away from home. Take your pick.
The Raiders will start favourites, but for mine, I reckon the Red V showed enough last week to suggest they can nab a rare victory over the Green Machine. Look for big games from Dugan and Trent Merrin, as well as a couple of ex-Raiders in Bronson Harrison and Daniel Vidot, who can both be damaging on their day.