St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor thought youngster Matt Dufty might drop his head when he dropped the ball early against Canberra.
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Instead the fullback electrified a lacklustre Dragons side with two moments of individual brilliance in a tense 25-18 win at Mudgee’s Glen Willow as they maintained their NRL ladder lead.
Scores were locked at 18-all with 10 minutes to go on Sunday when 22-year-old Dufty burnt four defenders on a scything 50-metre run for a match-clinching try that brought the Mudgee crowd of 8962 to their feet.
Dufty had earlier played a hand in another long-range try for Gareth Widdop.
He was also involved in two incidents in the first half that twice resulted in crucial Widdop penalty goals and a Raiders player reported on both occasions.
Canberra had a couple of shots on the Dragons line to force golden point late, however Widdop sealed a seven-point win with a 77th-minute field goal.
"He (Dufty) came up with a few errors but it's great to see he didn't go into being quiet," McGregor said.
The Raiders were leading 12-10 when Dragons hooker Cameron McInnes scooted out of dummy half and hit a surging Jack de Belin, who found Dufty before kicking ahead for Widdop.
Canberra winger Jordan Rapana hit back with a 50-metre run off a quick tap, only to be sin-binned five minutes later for a professional foul that resulted in Widdop's score-levelling penalty soon after.
The win means the Dragons remain two points clear of Penrith and the Warriors in top spot.
