The Bay trio of Tasha Brunhuber, Bree Moreton and Erin Buckingham all made solid contributions for the Steelers in front of their home crowd, with the side prevailing for a four-point victory.

Brunhuber was happy with the final scoreline, given their limited preparation as a team.

“We had a great outcome considering that we had only had one training session together,” she said.

“It was a hard-fought game, with great pressure from both teams.

“So many tries were saved because the team never gave up.”

Illawarra came out firing in the match, with tries to Brittany Constable and Tammy Fletcher giving them a 12-0 advantage inside the first 10 minutes.

It didn’t take long for Canberra to hit back, with Gabrielle Suckling putting the Raiders on the board 15 minutes into the half, before teammate Yasmin Meakes evened the scores soon after.

Erin Blackwell ensured Illawarra had the final say in the half, however, scoring just before the break for a 16-12 scoreline at half time.

It was to be the last score of the game, with both defences holding strong throughout the second half.

Brunhuber said she initially didn’t know how she would fare playing in front of familiar faces.

“It was quite daunting,” she said.

“There is definitely a bit more pressure, because you're out there wanting to make your family and friends proud by playing the best game you can.”

The game will be used to pick the CRL side to take on City in May.