Canberra secured sixth place on the NRL table with a barnstorming 52-34 victory over the Bulldogs at Canberra Stadium.

The 18-point margin was enough for the Raiders to leapfrog St George Illawarra on for and against and ensures New Zealand Warriors claim eighth place on the ladder.

The Raiders were helped along by the errant boot of Bulldog sharpshooter Hazem El Masri who landed just two of his six attempts in an unusually off day.

Had El Masri landed just one more conversion the Raiders would have finished seventh on the table and been forced into a guaranteed sudden-death qualifying final next week.

Canberra centre Joel Monaghan and fullback David Milne both scored hat-tricks while Terry Campese, Neville Costigan and Ryan Hinchcliffe also crossed in the nine tries to seven victory.

Campese, who has been Canberra's best player in the latter half of the year, finished with a personal haul of 20 points after landing eight of nine conversion attempts.

Bulldogs winger Heka Nanai bagged a double while Corey Hughes managed to score a try and boot the first conversion of his career in his final game for the club after more than a decade wearing blue and white.

It was also the final game for Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes who farewells the club after more than 30 years with a dreaded wooden spoon.

Canberra have just the one injury concern ahead of next week's qualifying finals after winger Brett Kelly copped an accidental knee to the back from Bulldogs centre Jamal Idris.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP