Hoodoo or hullabaloo? You be the judge, but even the normally conservative St George Illawarra skipper Ben Creagh is almost a converter.

"It's getting that way [believing in hoodoos]," Creagh mused.

"It's been a long time and I think the last time we beat them was here at WIN Stadium in 2007."

He would remember because in between the Dragons have dropped nine straight to their nemesis, lost 15 out of their last 16 and haven't won in the nation's capital since 2000.

The all-too-familiar script played out again in Wollongong: the Dragons enjoying long periods of dominance, flirting with that drought-breaking win and again falling short.

But Raiders skipper Terry Campese was always confident it would end like it usually does.

"I think it worried them more than us," he said.

"A few of their players putting on Twitter, 'today is the day the hoodoo is gone'. I love reading that before I play a game, definitely.

"It's one that I look at and see myself and have a little giggle to myself and we're already on top of them."

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Just what do the Dragons have to do to break the most perplexing record in Australian sport?

"Next time we verse the Raiders we've got to take a little bit more personal," pledged Dragon Daniel Vidot after the Green Machine stole away with a 22-18 win on Saturday.

The in-form Samoan international would know, having crossed the increasingly busy Canberra-St George Illawarra divide.

Vidot stoked the pre-game fire when he claimed the Raiders, while he was at Canberra, would amp themselves up for their "Origin" with a highlights package of wins over the Dragons.

But even he still can't work out why Canberra always seem to have the measure of the Red V.

"We kind of felt there were periods in the game where we were on top and dominating, but little lapses like that can cost you the game and it's something you've got to take away into next week," he said.

The Dragons are resigned to the fact their already slim finals hopes are almost up in smoke.

Even six wins from their remaining six matches would be unlikely to propel St George Illawarra into the top-eight equation given their poor differential.

A frustrated Creagh said the team were not competing hard enough for the full game.

"We know we can because we did it last Monday night [against South Sydney]. We've just got to be a lot more consistent in that area."

It's one trait Vidot is on the way to finally re-capturing, having played his first game at centre for the stricken Matt Cooper.

The 23-year-old won praise from coach Steve Price for his effort, which included preventing Jarrod Croker from scoring when he bundled the Raiders centre into touch.