Extreme heat and a broken down bus forced the Canberra Raiders' first ever women's team to wait longer than they had hoped for their first Tarsha Gale Cup clash.
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It was all worth it in the end, despite being on the wrong end of a 26-24 nail-biter against the Canterbury Bulldogs at Raiders Belconnen on Saturday.
Canberra struck first through Hunter Machell, and the two sides traded tries for much of the contest before the Bulldogs crossed for the match-winner with four minutes left on the clock.
A double to Machell had the Raiders up by four at the break, but before long scores were locked at 18-all after Bulldogs outside back Sinead Sio crossed the stripe.
Canberra returned fire through Ahlivia Ingram minutes later to go up 24-18, before tries to Kerri Putahi and Adi Sakiti gave the visitors the lead.
Play was stopped with no time left on the clock with a player down injured, after which Canberra launched a last-ditch effort to steal the victory.
It came to no avail and the Raiders now turn their attention to a meeting with Parramatta in Sydney next Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Raiders picked up their first win of the under 16's Harold Matthews Cup competition after taking care of St George 36-10.
The Dragons took the spoils in the under 18's SG Ball match, claiming a 34-20 win over the Raiders.
