In the wake of match official Phil Cooley's decision to deny a Josh Dugan try in the Raiders' 25-4 loss to the Wests Tigers last Sunday, Canberra released figures yesterday showing it was the worst treated club in the NRL over the past five seasons.

Since round one this year, 20 decisions have been sent to the video referee, with the Raiders awarded tries just eight times or on 40 per cent of occasions.

In stark contrast, teams playing against Canberra have been favoured in 86 per cent of decisions involving the third official. Opposition teams have been denied four-pointers just three times this year.

The NRL average for tries awarded when a decision is sent upstairs is 64 per cent.

It's a statistic the club can't explain. Is it a lime green hoodoo or simply bad luck?

Canberra coach David Furner admits it's not the only factor working against his team, blaming too many poor team performances for the Raiders' plight. They sit in 14th place on the ladder after finishing sixth last season.

But the rough run of decisions including the one where Cooley ruled Bronson Harrison had obstructed Tigers defender Garteh Ellis in the lead-up to the Dugan ''try'' has left the coach baffled.

''I can't change the result, but what I can do is air my grievance with the decision,'' Furner said.

''That decision was made and it wasn't the reason why we lost that game. I'll never look at it that way.

''But I am a little bit annoyed that we aren't getting those sort of [close] calls. The frustration for me is that I know how much it changes a game where it's a try or a no try.

''When those incidents happen in a game it does take a bit out of the players and you can't be naive and say it doesn't.''

More Raiders news in today's Canberra Times