Jarrod Croker has inspired a depleted and desperate Canberra to a 12-10 NRL win, after holding off a Canterbury second-half fightback at ANZ Stadium.
Raiders skipper Croker was the hero for Ricky Stuart's side, as they held their nerve to break a three-game losing streak on Saturday night.
After the last-placed Bulldogs levelled the scores at 10-10 with 15 minutes remaining to set up a grandstand finish, Croker who stood up when it counted.
First, the centre stripped the ball off Reimis Smith, as the Dogs attempted to work the ball off their own line.
And when Adam Elliott attempted to steal the ball back the next set, he was penalised and Croker accepted a gift two points to give his side what proved to be a winning lead in front of a crowd of 7213.
The Raiders were missing a lion's share of their salary cap with Josh Papalii, Jack Wighton and Nick Cotric on Origin duty, and Jordan Rapana (knee), Joey Leilua (neck) and Josh Hodgson (thumb) out injured.
Back-rower John Bateman was inspirational for the Raiders in his first game back from a fractured eye socket.
After his side lost all three matches in his absence, he punched out an 80-minute effort and scored a crucial first-half try.
After Hudson Young put Siliva Havili through a hole in the middle of the field, Bateman toed the ball through twice and then beat teammate Bailey Simonsson by centimetres to score.
After undergoing surgery, Bateman was given a fortnight off to return home to England and only got back to Australia on Tuesday.
The Dogs were diabolical in the first half, committing seven errors, as the visitors raced out to a 10-0 lead, thanks to Sebastian Kris and Bateman.
While they were their own worst enemies in the first 40 minutes, Dean Pay's side got back on level pegging midway through the second-half, stringing together five consecutive sets.
Jack Cogger sliced through and five minutes later, the Bulldogs thrived on the left edge, as Marcelo Montoya crossed on the back of a slick backline movement.
But the Raiders found something extra in the closing stages to earn two valuable competition points.
Meanwhile, Young has a nervous wait on his hands, after being put on report for an alleged eye gouge on Aiden Tolman.
After being tackled by Young and Sia Soliola, Tolman got up clutching at his eye and complained to the officials.
AAP
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