Trailing 24-12 with 13 minutes left, the Dragons produced two quick tries to draw within two and fell desperately short of a third when Mat Feagai raced into the clear on the final play of the game.

He as dragged down by the desperate Raiders cover, with Corey Harawira-Naera somehow not penalised despite lying all over Feagai as he looked to play the ball with just seconds left.

A penalty would have given Zac Lomax a very kickable chance to level the scores and send the game to golden point.

Referee Adam Gee did not blow a penalty and, having already burned their challenge earlier in the second half, the Dragons had no means of formal protest.

Read more: Steelers launch bid for Harvey Norman Women's Premiership inclusion

It was an almost identical scenario to when the sides last met in Wollongong in round 16, with Ben Hunt infringing three times in the final six seconds as the Dragons clung to a 12-10 lead.

Referee Peter Gough did not blow a penalty on that occasion, with NRL head of football Graham Annesley subsequently admitting Hunt could have been sin-binned three times.

The Dragons may extract the same admission from Annesley on Monday, but it will bring little comfort after slumping to their fifth loss in their last six games.

For his part, Griffin didn't miss the irony of the controversial finish.

"It's probably a little bit ironic isn't it, compared to the first game," Griffin said.

"We just ran out of time. It was a fantastic line break at that time of the game. The captain (Hunt) did everything he could with the kicking game late in the game to get us some field position and then put Matty away.

"We just needed one more play-the-ball but that's just the way the world works. I'm very proud of the effort.

"At different times the game was going against us. With our [lack of] field position in the second half to keep ourselves in that game was a fantastic effort.

"Unfortunately the last couple of weeks in particular, [against] Cronulla and Canberra, good sides, playing away from home, we gave them their points too easily and it was too hard to reel back in.

"We were both playing for our season and they got two really soft tries in that first half, both from kicks, and then first one in the second half.

"I couldn't be prouder of the endeavour and the want in the team but, at vital stages, we leaked points. [Our] 22 should have been enough to win today."

It came despite a timely breakout performance from newly re-signed young gun Talatau Amone, who grabbed a hat-trick and laid on Tautau Moga's 75th minute try to give his side a sniff.

"I thought he was outstanding," Griffin said.

"It's been a tough year for Junior, his first year as a fulltime starting five-eighth in the NRL.

"He played a Test match for Tonga as well and I thought today, in obviously our most important game of the year, he really stood up which is a great sign."

It came as halves partner Hunt produced a mixed bag, with a pin-point 40-20 and 20-40 both leading to tries.

The Dragons skipper also had a kick charged down for a crucial try to Raiders forward Ryan Sutton five minutes before halftime before putting the second-half restart out on the full leading to Albert Hopoate's 41st minute try.

It snuffs out whatever faint finals hopes the Dragons harboured, with the loss sure to heap further pressure on Griffin despite the club electing to extend his contract until the end of 2023 prior to round one.

While many predicted a finals finish was beyond the Dragons at the time, Griffin's side has now dropped five of their last six games to fall to 9-12 on the year.

A loss to the lowly Titans, to whom they've already dropped a match this year, in Wollongong next weekend would see the blowtorch turned full bore.

It would place the club in a difficult position given Hunt's assertion that Griffin's retention would go a long way to ensuring he finishes his career in Wollongong.

The Dragons board has been famously pragmatic when it comes to hiring and firing coaches, but a limp finish to the year against modest opposition may force its hand.

Hunt conceded it will be a challenge to get his side up for the remaining three matches, though two of the three are at home.

"I just want us to keep bringing the effort and commitment we've built," Hunt said.

"You couldn't fault our effort out there tonight. If we can keep bringing that consistently for the next couple of weeks, tidy a few things up, I think we can get a couple more wins.

"It's hard this time of year when the season's gone the way it has to turn up with that effort but I'll be encouraging the boys to do that."

The Dragons started with an incomplete set that saw the Raiders immediately capitalise through Hudson Young inside the first minute.

It came courtesy of a well-placed grubber from Zac Woolford at dummy-half, with Jamal Fogarty converting for an early 6-0 lead.

The Dragons hit back quickly courtesy of an error from Hopoate, with Amone barging across from close range. Lomax knocked through the extras to lock the scores at six apiece after eight minutes.

Read more: Path to NRLW redemption a steep climb for Dragons

Hunt quickly followed up with his fifth 40-20 of the season, but his side couldn't convert as Mbye rolled a grubber into touch to turn the ball over.

Hunt's boot remained on song, forcing a line dropout from the Raiders, with Amone grabbing his second try off an off-load from Bird. Lomax's second conversion gave his side a six-point cushion after 19 minutes.

It put the Dragons on the front foot but it turned quickly when Hopoate streaked away down the touch line, with Xavier Savage earning a six-again and laying on a try for Jordan Rapana with consecutive touches.

Fogarty nailed the sideline conversion to again lock the scores at 12-all 11 minutes before the break.

It kept the momentum with the hosts before Sutton twisted the knife when he turned a Hunt kick into a charge-down try and an 18-12 lead at halftime.

Hunt put the second-half restart dead on the full, a horrific start that saw Hopoate score off a neat grubber from Savage at the other end.

Fogarty again converted from the sideline chalk for a 24-12 lead just two minutes into the second stanza.

Neither side looked like posting points in the 20 minutes that followed until Hunt produced a stunning 20-40 that opened the door for Amone's hat-trick with 11 minutes left.

Lomax's conversion cut the margin to six, with the Raiders remarkably brushing the chance to shoot for a field goal next time up the park, Fogarty instead giving up a seven-tackle set with a poorly placed bomb.

It allowed the Dragons to march up the field and score through Moga who was the beneficiary of a lofted pass from Amone.

Lomax marginally hooked his attempted conversion, giving the Raiders a razor-thin two-point lead with three minutes left.

The Dragons pressed hard for go-ahead points and went desperately close when Feagai dashed 70 metres on the final play only to denied a clean play-the-ball by Harawira-Naera on the siren.

Download the Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.

Sign up for breaking news emails below ...