But that's not how this self-confessed "old man" operates. At least, not when he has the pace of Daine Spencer creeping up on his inside.

That's why on tackle five, with little over 60 seconds left on the clock and the game hanging in the balance, Withers runs.

The crafty Woden Valley Rams halfback turns it back on the inside - 45 metres out from the line, if you don't mind - to the flashy fullback in headgear.

Spencer beats one, beats two, to find himself in open space. He escapes the clutches of three more as he dives over the line and straight into a wave of emotion.

He is mobbed by blue and gold jerseys as he caps off a thrilling 26-18 Canberra Raiders Cup victory over the Tuggeranong Bushrangers at Greenway Oval.

The Rams scored 20 unanswered points to claim the spoils in a grand final rematch, and Spencer's try was the icing on the cake on Saturday.

"You could have put another five blokes in front of him, and he would have kept running. He's a special player," Withers said.

"I don't think we'll get him back for the rest of the year, I think he'll be up for bigger and better things with the Raiders [under 20s] but it was good for him to come back and play with the boys from last year and enjoy what is probably his last game.

"I don't think we'll get him back with the way he is playing, I'd be surprised. I was going to kick it out [on the last play], [Michael] Brophy was putting pressure on me all day so some of my kicks weren't great.

"I saw Daine and he normally comes up with the goods, the young kid. I just got him the ball and he did what he does. He's strong, he's fast, he's probably too good for the local competition."

While Spencer could be set for bigger and better things for the rest of the year, it will create another gap for Woden to attempt to fill.

Withers concedes the defending premiers are running short on middles at the moment but Tyson Hodge and Jeff Morgan are working overtime to fill the void.

Now a suspected broken hand could sideline Kosta Posantzis, while hooker Adam Lucas hurt his elbow and is bound for an overseas trip.

Mitchell Souter could be called up from reserve grade as Woden continue their rise up the competition ladder.

"We're knocked around, we didn't lose a game for almost 12 months and then we lost those two early, and a few of the boys were a bit embattled," Withers said.

"We've got a tough run coming with the Blues and Westies, so hopefully we can keep it rolling. We lost a few more injury-wise, so we'll just have to assess that and hopefully some of the kids step up and keep filling those voids."

For some time it seemed as though Tuggeranong would get some small vengeance for last season and continue their unbeaten run.

"Priceless" Bushrangers back-rower Jarrad Kennedy continued his rich vein of form to score early in the second half to widen the gap built by tries to Connor Massey and Josh Baker.

But the reigning premiers - albeit a side missing almost half of its grand final side from last year - were never going to wave the white flag.

"All in all, it was good we just stayed in the game. At 18-6 down, we could have gone another way but the boys fought back," Withers said.