The Canberra Raiders needed everything to go right to extend their three-game winning streak and knock off the red-hot St George Illawarra Dragons.

Two minutes in, the Raiders appeared to have made the ideal start when captain Jarrod Croker bounced out of a Tyson Frizzell tackle and planted the ball over the line.

Referee Ben Cummins went to the video referee with a no-try verdict.

After several views, the potentially-momentum building four-pointer was waved away, with Croker ruled to have made a double movement.

"Looks like his oz-tag tag fell off, honestly," Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said after his side's 32-18 loss at WIN Stadium on Sunday.

"It's a try every day of the week ... but I don't want that to affect the win for St George.

"They were very, very good today."

Indeed they were.

The Dragons did everything they had to to move into a four-way tie for the lead at the top of the table with a 7-3 record after 10 rounds.

A win for the Raiders would have put them in the top four.

It would have been the first time in that position at this time of the season since 2005.

Given that season 10 years ago ended in disaster - the Raiders dropped off dramatically to finish second last - maybe it's an omen to avoid.

Perhaps it's a weird thing to say in a 14-point loss, but the Raiders weren't terrible.

The Dragons scored three of their five tries from kicks behind an immaculate performance from the halves combination of Gareth Widdop and Benji Marshall.

The Raiders should find themselves still in the top eight at the end of the weekend with a 5-5 record.

In such a tightly congested ladder, it doesn't mean much right now.

But the fact they are in the conversation for the finals and not the wooden spoon is a huge surprise to many pundits.

Stuart is doing his best to keep his side grounded, wheeling out the trademark "one week at a time" line.

Next Sunday's match against an Origin-depleted Bulldogs at Canberra Stadium is the Raiders' focus.

"It's part of our journey," Stuart said.

"You don't have to play bad to lose in this competition.

"There's a lot of teams playing really good football and still not getting the two points.

"We didn't get wrapped up in all the hype in the last three weeks, and we won't be taking a step back in our preparation and how our game's going at the moment.

"We'll bounce out of that.

"It's the beginning of a new football team."

The Dragons are second on the ladder heading into a bye to the delight of coach Paul McGregor.

"It's a reward for all the work the players are putting in," McGregor said.

"The guys are taking nothing for granted and working really hard for one another.

"It's a nice position to be in with a week off."

The only concern for the Dragons is a leg injury to Marshall.

Former Kangaroos prop David Shillington played his game of the season for the Raiders replacing Mark Nicholls (cheekbone).

The Raiders trailed 20-6 late in the first half.

Mammoth prop Shannon Boyd used pure strength to carry three defenders across the line to score just before half-time.

Then, Queensland Origin hopeful Josh Papalii crashed his way over four minutes after the break to get Canberra back within two points.

That's as close as the Raiders got.

Dragons second-rower Joel Thompson made his former club pay for an error off the kick-off before Marshall chased down a Widdop grubber.

ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS 32 (Euan Aitken, Benji Marshall, Jason Nightingale, Joel Thompson, Gareth Widdop tries; Widdop 6 goals) bt CANBERRA RAIDERS 18 (Shannon Boyd, Josh Papalii, Sia Soliola tries; Jarrod Croker 3 goals) at WIN Stadium. Referees: Ben Cummins, Chris Butler. Crowd: 13,102.