Fulltime: The Raiders withstand a dramatic Eels fightback to win 40-34 at Canberra Stadium today. The Eels scored three tries in the final five minutes to reduce the gap to just two points with three minutes on the clock. But centre Jack Wighton busted through a couple of tackles to run 50m and give the Raiders their fourth win of the season. For the Eels, their 1-9 start is their worst win/loss record in a season since 1960. Lot to fix up for both teams.

80min: Breathe easy Raiders fans, Jack Wighton gets them home in one of the strangest games of footy in years. Wighton breaks through two flimsy tackles and runs 50m to score the match-winner. Croker misses the conversion.

77min: Lookout, we have a grandstand finish! A Chris Sandow chip kick gets a rotten bounce, in between two Raiders defenders for Hayne to grab. Hayne flicks the ball out to Sandow to dive in under the posts. Burt converts and the Eels trail by two points. The Raiders take their time for the kick off.

76min: The Eels are in again with Ken Sio keeping his feet in play to score in the corner. The Raiders' left-edge defence exposed again. Burt converts. Raiders lead 36-28

73min: Surely there can't be another twist? Ryan Morgan does well to hold off Jack Wighton and score in the corner, Burt misses the conversion and the Eels are still three scoring plays behind.

69min: Josh Dugan carves up the Eels defence up the middle, Laurie Daley rightly calling it soft as the Raiders seal the two points. Dugan breaks through and fires a sensational long pass to Robinson to score. Croker converts, 36-18 Raiders.

67min: Against the run of play the Raiders strike back, Joel Thompson diving on a another disputed ball on the ground close to the try-line. Nice work from Josh Dugan to bat the ball back from a Sam Williams chip kick. Croker converts. 30-18 Raiders.

63min: And the Eels are in again! Worrying times for the Raiders, left-edge defence caught out again with a question mark over the last pass from Hayne to winger Ken Sio to score in the corner. Burt converts to reduce the gap to six points.

60min: The Eels showing some fight, forcing another Raiders drop-out. Sandow puts in a great chase to contain Josh Dugan from a Jarryd Hayne grubber.

58min: The Eels aren't done yet, Cheyse Blair finishing off a quick passing movement to the right to stroll over in the corner. Burt nails the conversion from the sideline. The crowd: 9210

56min: Nice play Luke Burt, the Eels winger playing his 250th game putting in a neat kick into the in-goal to force a repeat set.

53min: Freezing day but Jack Wighton is red-hot, charging down the side-line to a few metres out from the Eels line until he is bundled over the touchline. In bad news for the Raiders, second-rower Josh Papalii has a suspected broken arm.

51min: No dispute that Chris Sandow's in shape, and by shape I mean round. Doing nothing so far, Souths must be happy to have got rid of him

48min: Poor old Parra, dropping the ball when they were on the charge. A simple error lets the Raiders off the hook.

45min: Better play from the Eels, more composed and Casey McGuire chips to the try-line on the last tackle. Blake Ferguson easily takes it and defuses the trouble.

43min: Another close call for the Eels, Cheyse Blair diving on the Williams grubber kick 1m out from the Eels' line.

Halftime: The Eels got out of the blocks early but trail 24-6 at the break. Too many basic errors costing them dearly, while the Raiders have made the most of limited chances.

40min: C'mon Sandow, that lazy chip kick is simply not good enough. You can see why the marquee recruit was dropped to NSW Cup, only Justin Poore's desperate tackle stopping Jack Wighton from going the length of the field from the rebound.

38min: Whether this try is given or not, Josh Dugan is pressing a late, late case for NSW selection. Sensational instincts to grubber for himself close to the line, battles with Hayne to regather and Sam Williams gets his hands on it. Video ref gives the red light for a double knock on.

35min: And just like that the Eels are standing behind the posts again. Josh Dugan steals the ball from Jarryd Hayne in a one-on-one tackle from a high ball. Josh Papalii strolls over out wide on the next play. Croker converts, Eels in strife. Raiders 24-6.

32min: Wooshka, Blake Ferugson grabs a Casey McGuire bomb and sprints 90m to extend the Raiders lead. The Eels were pressing the Raiders line until McGuire bombed to the wing on the last tackle, Ferguson beating Luke Burt to the ball and running like a gazelle down the sideline. Croker converts, 18-6.

29min: A week after the Raiders were fined $10,000 for David Furner suggesting the referees didn't give his side a chance of winning, the Raiders have had four straight penalties.

25min: Joel Thompson dives on the Eels dropping a bomb to give the Raiders the lead. A pretty regulation bomb from Sam Williams but Ken Sio makes a meal of it and Thompson wins the race to the ball. Croker converts for a 12-6 lead.

23min: Moi Moi tips a Raiders player on his head and the Raiders get their third penalty of the game. Nothing much in it.

21min: Jarrod Croker, take a bow! A bit of a party trick from the Raiders centre, flicking the ball out the backdoor with two defenders around him to give Reece Robinson a clear run at the line. A timely response from the Raiders, Croker converting from out wide to level the scores.

18min: Sandow puts just too much on his kick into the in-goal. The Eels are dominating possession, with 70 per cent of the ball and the Raiders making twice as many tackles. A massive roar goes up for the Raiders' first penalty of the game.

14min: Talk about a close call! Blake Ferguson waits until the last minute before knocking a perfectly weighted Sandow kick over the dead-ball line. Another repeat set for the Raiders to survive.

13min: Twinkletoes Josh Dugan dances through a few Eels defenders, even surviving a rocket Fui Fui shoulder charge. A good clearing kick from Travis Waddell gets the Raiders out of danger.

10min: That's why the Eels paid big bucks for Chris Sandow, darting through to put the Eels on the charge. A couple of tackles later Joseph Paulo forgets he's a second-rower, grubbering through for Morgan to get the Eels on the board. Burt converts.

6min: A promising raid from the Eels breaks down when Ryan Morgan passes to the invisible man over the sideline, not knowing Luke Burt had come inside.

5min: Very suspect pass from Sandow to Moi Moi as the Eels attack. Hayne puts through a neat grubber and forces a line drop-out from the Raiders.

3min: Who's the first Eel to stop Josh Dugan? None other than Nathan Hindmarsh, the man's a tackling machine.

3min: Josh Dugan follows Jarryd Hayne's lead to kick his side out of trouble on the final tackle. Steady start for both sides.

Kickoff: Here we go, Luke Burt making his 250th appearance for the Eels. Josh Dugan kicking off for the Raiders in a match crucial not just to both their seasons, but also the future of the respective coaches.

Pre-game: Just one change for the Canberra Raiders, with Kiwi international Bronson Harrison coming on to the interchange bench in place of Sam Mataora. The Parramatta Eels will take to the field 1-17. A chilly day out here at Canberra Stadium with dark skies overhead.

Preamble: Despite rain being predicted for Canberra today, the skies are yet to turn grey, although some clouds were rolling in at around 11am. This is a battle between two sides unlikely to make the eight, but two sides which are desperate to turn around their early-season fortunes.

Join Lee Gaskin as he brings you blow-by-blow coverage from 2pm.