In a frenetic final term, St John showed his nerve from 40m in the riveting 9.12 (66) to 8.9 (57) win.

"I've missed 12 I think," St John admitted seconds after the siren.

"I was a little bit nervous, but you just stick to a little routine."

So much of the buildup centred around former Raiders' mentor Daryn Cresswell coaching against his former side for the first time, but the highlight was another ripping contest between two fringe finals candidates.

And Raiders deserve tremendous praise for the comeback win.

They started the final term nine points behind after failing to kick a goal in the second and third quarters, but coach Jarrod Hodgkin snapped his team from its lethargy when he "milked" a free kick from Hawk Nick Murray.

"Yeah, I might have put a bit of mayo on it, I don't like admitting that, he gave me a push, it might have been a bit high, but I certainly probably went to ground a bit easy," he said.

Raiders were behind by three points before Ethan Boxall, in his first senior game for the season following injury, nailed a free kick from a 45 degree angle.

The cool St John delivered the winning blow, albeit with just over eight minutes left.

Earlier on, it looked Raiders by how far as they streeted to a 34-point quarter-time lead.

"It was probably a five-goal breeze," Hodgkin said.

Rovers then kicked 4.5 to two behinds to slash the margin to seven points.

The home team again restricted Raiders to just four behinds, despite the wind dropping, and carried that momentum.

"We closed them down in the third and we obviously had a plan," Cresswell said.

"If 'Knowlesy' (Chris Knowles) had kicked that goal (he hit the post), I thought we could have put some scoreboard pressure on."

Hodgkin was crucial with 27 touches, while Daniel Bowles (24) used his booming left foot to ease pressure.

Pacy youngster Jarrod Ardern (20) was a constant threat, while big man Brodie A'Vard started with two goals.

Ex-Raider Raven Jolliffe landed three goals in the second term, defender Nathan Cooper was superb, while Shane Gaston's neck injury proved critical.