Already out of finals contention, the Raiders continued their giant-killing ways with a bruising 24-12 win over the top-placed Dragons on Saturday night, meaning they have now beaten three of the top-four sides in the competition.

That could have been four from four had five-eighth Terry Campese landed a late conversion attempt during the Raiders' 23-20 loss to the second-placed Bulldogs a week earlier. The win over the Dragons was the first time the Raiders had come from behind at half-time all season and they did it in front of their biggest home crowd in three years.

Tongue said the way the Raiders matched and bettered the Dragons in intensity and physicality for the entire 80 minutes showed just how much potential they had.

With standout players Jarrod Croker, Josh Dugan and Daniel Vidot still under 20 years old, Tongue said Canberra's future was bright once it could muster greater consistency.

''With guys like Croker and Dugan and Vidot, those sort of guys, it's just so exciting for them to get in a game like that and get the experience out of it,'' Tongue said.

''We were always excited about the future, it was just about getting that balance right and getting some consistency in their performances.

''It's disappointing because if we had beaten the Bulldogs last week that would have been all the top-four sides we have beaten this year.

''We've just got to learn as a side that we need to play with that sort of intensity week in, week out.

''If we can do that there's going to be some special, special times ahead.''

While Tongue said the performance of Canberra's young stars showed the club had a bright future, it was some of the Raiders' old heads who led the charge against the Dragons.

More Raiders news in today's Canberra Times