Canberra young gun Jed Stuart says the Raiders “got out of jail” in their thrilling 36-34 win over South Sydney in Perth, ending their four-game losing streak.

The Raiders were challenged twice in the second half – and almost had the match lost in the dying seconds when Rabbitohs winger Alex Johnston failed to reel in a Latrell Mitchell bomb to the corner.

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But the Raiders escaped with a two-point victory to lift last year’s minor premiers to 2-4.

“We need it to be the start of something,” Stuart said post-match.

“We need to roll on with that win – feel what it feels like again and really bounce on that next week.”

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Stuart said the will to win lifted the Raiders to deny the Bunnies in their second half surge after coming from 24-4 down.

“I just wanted to win!” he said.

“Our chase and scatter from the boys in the middle, covering our ass was unreal.

“Probably a real get out of jail free there just from the hard work of our middles.”

PERTH, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 11: Jed Stuart and Kaeo Weekes of the Raiders celebrate a try during the round six NRL match between South Sydney Rabbitohs and Canberra Raiders at Optus Stadium, on April 11, 2026, in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

Fullback Kaeo Weekes provided the highlight of the match with his 85m solo try in the second half.

“Oh we needed that try at that moment!” Stuart said.

“He’s so good to play with because he comes up with that out of nowhere! Helps put the team on the front foot – but we can’t be relying on him to do that.

FULL FIELD: Kaeo stuns with winning try | 02:05

“When he does that, it’s just a cherry on top.”

Even coach Ricky Stuart was full of praise for his star back.

“He’s a class footy player,” he said.

“He’s a freak in regards to some of the line breaks he makes.”

Describing the Raiders as their “own worst enemy” during their four-game losing streak, coach Stuart was pleased with the way Canberra fought off the Rabbitohs charge – which include two tries in less than two minutes to draw within four with just three minutes to play.

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“We just needed a win today. It was ugly, but I’d rather win ugly than lose pretty,” he said.

“(The season start) isn’t the way we started but it is what it is.

“The one thing I know though is they’ll keep fighting for the jumper and one another.

“We kept turning up and scrambling.

“They all want to win – there isn’t a player out there who doesn’t want to win.”

But the task doesn’t get any easier for the Raiders as they now take on the Melbourne Storm – in game three of their four games in just 19 days.

“We’ve had a tough schedule, but we’ll take it week by week,” Jed Stuart said.

“We’ll just worry about where we are now and what’s our best track to get to where we want to be.”