RUGBY LEAGUE NEWS:
Round 10:
Dragons bounce back at WIN
Written by: Andrew Cook
May 18th, 2007 09:56 PM

LINK TO MATCH PICS - CLICK HERE

Match summary
The St George Illawarra Dragons have answered their critics with a strong 28-10 victory over the Gold Coast Titans at WIN Stadium to kick off Round 10 of the NRL.

The Dragons looked like a completely different team from the side that lost by 19 points to the Tigers in their last game, mainly thanks to a very strong forward effort and some enterprising attacking play that featured plenty of people running different angles to keep the Titans defence guessing. Their new-found plans didn’t click straight away though, and the Dragons were unlucky to only be holding a slender 2 point lead after 23 minutes – and had already lost Wes Naiqama for the night with a serious knee injury.

The Titans had a burst of enthusiasm midway through the first half, and Mat Rogers continued his great patch of form with a couple of nice breaks that stunned the Dragons and stopped their attacking momentum. Thankfully for Nathan Brown, their defence held firm and they managed one more try before the break to take a 12-4 lead into the sheds.

Jason Ryles left the field shortly into the second half to leave the Dragons with a two-man bench, but that wasn’t enough to stop the onslaught. Two further tries, including a bottler to young winger Jason Nightingale, gave the Dragons a 20 point lead and a chance to rack up a sizable score against a Titans side that looked to be out of answers.

Just like the first half though, the Titans were able to claw their way back with plenty of possession (thanks to some poor Dragons ball control) but could only come up with one try before a 62nd minute try to Dragons forward Ashton Sims wrapped up the scoring for the evening.

There was plenty to like about the Dragons performance in front of their home fans, but Nathan Brown will be slightly disappointed that they didn’t go on with the job when the Titans were on the ropes. The Dragons forwards were the stars tonight, led by stand-out performances from Ben Creagh, Danny Wicks, Beau Scott (who spent a lot of time in the centres in place of Naiqama) and veteran hooker Simon Woolford.

The Titans never threw in the towel, but couldn’t find the extra gears when they were required to stay in the match. Scott Prince had his quietest game for the year behind an outgunned forward pack, while Mat Rogers and Gavin Cooper produced strong performances for the visiting team.

Match Scores:

Round 10 - Full Time :: May 18th, 2007 07:30 PM
Venue: WIN Stadium
Crowd: 12,058
Referee: Tony Archer

St George Illawarra Dragons 28
Tries: Wes Naiqama, Adam Peek, Corey Payne, Jason Nightingale, Ashton Sims
Goals: Mathew Head (3/4), Wes Naiqama (1/1)
Gold Coast Titans 10
Tries: Matt Petersen, Scott Prince
Goals: Mat Rogers (1/2)

LeagueUnlimited.com Player of the Match
3 Points: Ben Creagh (Dragons)
2 Points: Simon Woolford (Dragons)
1 Point: Gavin Cooper (Titans)

Live Commentary
Welcome to WIN Stadium for tonights clash between the St George Illawarra Dragons and the Gold Coast Titans! The Dragons got the cash in the Round One match between these two teams this year ... can the Titans get up in the rematch?

Smith Samau takes Jake Webster's place in the Titans line-up, and James Stosic will start while Kris Kahler drops to the bench. There are no changes for the Dragons.

KICKOFF - We're underway!

3 min: Scott Prince puts a nice grubber kick into the Dragons in-goal that is well claimed by Ben Hornby. The Dragons get a penalty straight away for some easy metres.

8 min: No score as yet - both teams are playing pretty controlled footy with the ball in hand. The Dragons (thanks to another penalty) are starting an attacking set 40 metres out.

9 min: VIDEO REF - possible Dragons try ...

9 min: TRY St George Illawarra Dragons
Matt Head chips the ball through on the last tackle and Wes Naiqama easily wins the race to the ball and opens the scoring tonight. It's early days, but this is looking like a very different Dragons team compared to what we've seen in previous weeks. Naiqama converts his own try.
St George Illawarra Dragons 6-0

14 min: Matt Head puts up an attacking bomb for his winger - the ball is batted back and eventually finds Jason Ryles. He puts in a kick that sails over the dead ball line.

15 min: VIDEO REF - possible Dragons try ...

15 min: NO TRY - the video ref sends the call back to Tony Archer, and he rules that Jason Ryles has been held up over the line.

17 min: The Titans try to run the ball on the last tackle for some reason, and Mark Minichiello is caught 30 metres out from the Dragons line.

20 min: Scott Prince kicks out on the full, handing more excellent attacking possession to the Dragons.

21 min: INJURY - Wes Naiqama is being assisted from the field with a knee injury.

21 min: The Dragons last two attacking kicks have been pretty ordinary, with no chasers putting pressure on the Titans defence.

23 min: TRY Gold Coast Titans
Matt Petersen scores for the Titans, completely against the run of play. Mat Rogers and Petersen were involved in a great break to get the Titans down to the right end of the field, and at the end of the set Petersen claims a cross-field bomb from Matt Hilder by climbing over the top of Josh Morris. Mat Rogers misses with the conversion attempt.
St George Illawarra Dragons 6-4

25 min: The Titans make another great break through Mat Rogers, but he chooses to pass inside to Gavin Cooper (who drops the ball) instead of out to Matt Petersen, who looked like having an easy run to the corner.

28 min: INJURY UPDATE - Wes Naiqama has suffered potentially season-ending ligament damage. Beau Scott has moved into the centres for the Dragons.

31 min: Another half-break from the Titans down their left-hand side is ended when Matt Hilder fumbles a Gavin Cooper pass. The Dragons have gone right off the boil while the Titans are warming up nicely.

34 min: TRY St George Illawarra Dragons
A strong run and nice offload from Beau Scott is well backed up by Dean Young, and Adam Peek claims the last pass to crash across the line and make me look a bit stupid for my last comment. Matt Head converts.
St George Illawarra Dragons 12-4

35 min: Jason Ryles throws a forward pass 20 metres out from his own line to give the Titans a chance to hit straight back.

39 min: 40/20 - Scott Prince nails a great kick for the Titans.

HALFTIME - St George Illawarra Dragons 12 Gold Coast Titans 4

The Dragons started the game looking very sharp with a strong forward base and plenty of angled runs on attack, but the Titans have also produced their own moments of magic. The score is probably a fair reflection of the difference between the two teams at the moment though - the Titans will have to dig deep if they want to stay in the contest.

The second half is underway!

41 min: The Titans throw a forward pass on their first set of the second forty - probably not the smartest thing to do at this stage of the match.

42 min: TRY St George Illawarra Dragons
Corey Payne steams onto a short pass just a couple of metres out and crashes over the line to score. We're a long way out from fulltime, but that could be the killer blow to the Titans chances. Matt Head converts.
St George Illawarra Dragons 18-4

46 min: Josh Morris makes a nice 30 metre burst out of dummy half, and a couple of tackles later a Matt Head kick traps the Titans in their own in-goal. Jason Ryles has left the field and headed straight up the tunnel.

51 min: TRY St George Illawarra Dragons
What a try! Matt Head puts in a kick downfield straight from a scrum win 40 metres out, and Jason Nightingale flashes through, picks up the ball, and dots down under the posts. Matt Head adds the extras.
St George Illawarra Dragons 24-4

56 min: TRY Gold Coast Titans
Scott Prince suddenly decides to get involved with instant results - he's scored a great individual try here after stepping his way through three Dragons defenders. Mat Rogers converts.
St George Illawarra Dragons 24-10

57 min: INJURY UPDATE - Jason Ryles is out for the rest of the match with a leg injury, meaning the Dragons are down to a 2-man bench.

62 min: TRY St George Illawarra Dragons
Simon Woolford grubbers from dummy-half, and Ashton Sims easily gets around Scott Prince to score the try. The Dragons are looking really good on attack and could run away with the match now. Matt Head hooks the conversion attempt wide.
St George Illawarra Dragons 28-10

65 min: The Dragons bomb a try as Matt Head throws a forward pass to Ben Hornby after a clean break. Hornby had a clear run in front of him, but it wasn't to be this time.

66 min: The Titans force a goal line drop-out from the Dragons.

69 min: The Dragons are turning the ball over to the Titans regularly now - it's almost as if Nathan Brown has put out the call for some tackling practice.

72 min: The Dragons make a nice half-break and Simon Woolford finds himself in the clear, but passes straight to Brett Delaney. The Titans surge upfield with a counter attack, but the chance is spoiled by a Scott Prince pass that floats past both Delaney and Smith Samau before crossing the touchline.

75 min: The Titans have had the bulk of possession over the last 15 minutes or so, but the Dragons have been able to hold firm.

80 min: Matt Head chips ahead for a flying Josh Morris to chase, but Matt Petersen wins the race and takes the ball over the dead ball line.

FULLTIME - St George Illawarra Dragons 28 Gold Coast Titans 10

The Dragons have produced a notably improved performance tonight to hand the Titans their third defeat in three weeks. The Titans weren't disgraced by any stretch, but simply outclassed by a more determined opposition in front of a parochial home crowd.

WWW.JUBILEEAVENUE.COM.AU