sport news Ricky Stuart is left FUMING after Canberra are denied last-second penalty in ... trends now Ricky Stuart believes the NRL owes him an APOLOGY as Raiders boss is left FUMING after Canberra are denied last-second penalty in controversial loss to St George Illawarra St George Illawarra defeated Canberra 12-10 at WIN Stadium on Sunday Dragons slowed the game down with five seconds left and five tackles gone But referee Peter Gough didn't award Raiders a penalty in front of the posts Ricky Stuart and Raiders skipper Elliott Whitehead blasted the decision By Dan Cancian For Daily Mail Australia and Australian Associated Press Published: 11:05 BST, 3 July 2022 | Updated: 11:05 BST, 3 July 2022 Viewcomments Ricky Stuart was left fuming after Canberra were denied a last-minute penalty in a 12-10 loss against St George Illawarra at a rain-soaked WIN Stadium on Sunday. The Dragons led by two points with just over a minute to go when the Raiders were gifted a glorious opportunity to score after St George fullback Cody Ramsey dropped a bomb. The Dragons defence refused to budge through the first five tackles and St George utility Jack Bird halfback Ben Hunt then laid over Joe Tapine to deliberately slow the game down after the Raiders prop was tackled five metres away from the try line. Ricky Stuart was left fuming with referee Peter Gough after a controversial ending to the Raiders' loss against St George Referee Peter Gough intervened to signal a six-again to restart the tackle count, but did not award the Raiders a penalty right in front of the spot which would have in all likelihood tie the score and forced the game into golden point. As the fresh set of six started, Hunt tackled dummy half Tom Starling and the game was over. 'I've only seen it once [and] I only need to see it once,' a visibly frustrated Stuart said after the game. 'Tomorrow I'll get an apology or I'll get justification of there not being a penalty. We set ourselves up to win that game with a really tough grind.' St George utility Jack Bird halfback Ben Hunt then laid over Joe Tapine to deliberately slow the game down with six seconds left to play Before Hunt tackled Tom Starling despite not being square of the marker after the referee issued a six-again call to restart the set Raiders captain Elliott Whitehead was similarly scathing of the decision, but conceded Canberra had wasted too many chances to win the game. 'I best not make a comment because it'll come back on me,' Whitehead, who repeatedly pleaded his team's cause with Gough, said. 'It shouldn't come down to that [last play], we're a better team than that. We let ourselves down and made too many errors.' Speaking on The Matty Johns Show on Fox League after the game, Storm star Brandon Smith pointed the incident had shown the fallacy of the six-again approach the NRL implemented this season. Raiders captain Elliott Whitehead (No 12) forcefully remonstrated with the referee Whereas infringement at the ruck would have previously been penalised, a six-again call is now issued to speed the game up. 'This is where a six-again is not really a great asset for you as a team,' Smith said. 'But I think if you just knock the ball on — I don’t think it’s legal — but if you pretend to knock the ball on I think they get a two-point conversion.' Raiders star Jack Wighton endured a difficult day at the office after recovering from Covid-19 The loss against St George leaves the Raiders languishing in 11th place, while the Dragons moved up to eighth and are four points clear of Canberra. One of the main culprits who undid the Raiders hard work was five-eighth Jack Wighton, who is expected to be named in the NSW State of Origin squad on Monday. Wighton struggled to impose himself on the game - his first since missing State of Origin II with COVID-19 - making four errors and enduring a torrid time with the boot in horrendous conditions. Moses Suli scored St George's second try of the afternoon just before the break The 29-year-old gifted the Dragons their first try of the afternoon when he tapped a short dropout back into the hands of Talatau Amone and also failed to make touch from a penalty kick with the game in the balance. Amone's 18th minute try and one on the stroke of halftime to Moses Suli were enough to get the Dragons home. Xavier Savage scored in the first half for Canberra with Hudson Young making it 12-10 in the 54th minute. The Dragons moved up to eighth with the win, four points ahead of the Raiders Wighton's errors proved costly for Canberra's hopes of getting a winner but they did get one last crack at the Dragons' line, only for Hunt and Bird to slow Tapine down and kill the game. 'I was briefly worried when I jumped on him [Starling],' said Hunt. 'I was half- panicking, I was the left side half and I was tackling on the right side so I had to do something. I was quite happy he didn't blow up.' A thigh injury to Mat Feagai was the only concern for the Dragons, who face Brisbane next Sunday. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility