StephenP
ArnoldDragons cruise to victory
June 6th 2008 11:37
The St George-Illawarra Dragons have stormed into the NRL’s top eight after recording a hard fought 28-10 victory over a spare parts Brisbane Broncos outfit at WIN stadium tonight.
With the majority of the pre-match hype centred on the return of dual international Wendell Sailor, it was the young Dragons contingent that guided the joint venture to their fourth successive victory.
The much heralded return of Sailor turned into a fizzer, with the bulky winger failing to return from the sheds at half-time after sustaining a suspected broken cheekbone from an accidental head clash with Brisbane’s David Stagg.
After a fiery start to proceedings, the home side posted first points through skipper Ben Hornby, with the Origin utility chasing through a nifty Jamie Soward grubber kick to provide the Dragons with a 6-0 lead after eight minutes.
Soward pushed that the lead out to eight with a penalty goal just two minutes later, before hooker Dean Young extended their lead to 14-0 in the 20th minute thanks to a simple dummy-half barge over try.
Brisbane hit back with a well worked team try finished off by forward Greg Eastwood, the Kiwi international running a neat angled run to beat three Dragons defenders to the tryline, with Michael Ennis’s 27th minute conversion making it 14-6.
In what was turning into an exciting match, St George-Illawarra were the next to score through some exhilarating work from the ‘Morris twins’; Josh drawing in three defenders before producing a one-handed offload to brother Brett to race fifty metres for a 20-6 half-time lead.
After Soward was denied a try by video referee Phil Cooley straight after the break, Cooley earned the ire of a hostile Wollongong crowd by controversially awarding a try to the Broncos Tonie Carroll.
Chasing an innocuous Ennis kick downfield, the veteran Brisbane lock found himself rewarded for a determined chase when the ball took a horrid right-hand break away from the Dragons players, with television replays suggesting that Carroll bobbled the ball while dotting down.
But after countless replays, Cooley awarded a benefit of the doubt try to Carroll, making it game-on at 20-10 with half an hour left to play.
However, the young Broncos backline gifted the Dragons their fourth try in the 61st minute, with a determined chase and bat back off a Soward bomb providing winger Jason Nightingale with his eleventh try of the season.
Nightingale’s second four-pointer wrapped up the match for the Dragons.
St George-Illawarra Dragons 28
Tries: Jason Nightingale 2, Ben Hornby, Dean Young, Brett Morris
Goals: Jamie Soward 4
defeated
Brisbane Broncos 10
Tries: Greg Eastwood, Tonie Carroll
Goals: Michael Ennis
WIN Stadium
Referee – Ben Cummins
In tonight’s earlier game, a youthful South Sydney Rabbitohs has sprung a surprise 35-28 victory over the New Zealand Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium.
In a game that saw 12 tries scored, Souths recorded just their second victory of the season, with Toyota Cup rookie Chris Sandow a standout.
The former Gold Coast rookie was a constant menace for the large Warriors forwards, and he capped off a fine debut by kicking a 79th minute field goal to secure victory for the visiting team.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 35
Tries: Jamie Simpson, Fetuli Talanoa, Manase Manuokafoa, Luke Capewell, Luke Stuart, Ben Lowe
Goals: Isaac Luke 3, Chris Sandow 2, Chris Sandow fg
defeated
New Zealand Warriors 28
Tries: Michael Crockett 3, Patrick Ah Van, Aiden Kirk, Jerome Ropati
Goals: Patrick Ah Van, Lance Hohaia
At Mt Smart Stadium
With the majority of the pre-match hype centred on the return of dual international Wendell Sailor, it was the young Dragons contingent that guided the joint venture to their fourth successive victory.
The much heralded return of Sailor turned into a fizzer, with the bulky winger failing to return from the sheds at half-time after sustaining a suspected broken cheekbone from an accidental head clash with Brisbane’s David Stagg.
After a fiery start to proceedings, the home side posted first points through skipper Ben Hornby, with the Origin utility chasing through a nifty Jamie Soward grubber kick to provide the Dragons with a 6-0 lead after eight minutes.
Soward pushed that the lead out to eight with a penalty goal just two minutes later, before hooker Dean Young extended their lead to 14-0 in the 20th minute thanks to a simple dummy-half barge over try.
Brisbane hit back with a well worked team try finished off by forward Greg Eastwood, the Kiwi international running a neat angled run to beat three Dragons defenders to the tryline, with Michael Ennis’s 27th minute conversion making it 14-6.
In what was turning into an exciting match, St George-Illawarra were the next to score through some exhilarating work from the ‘Morris twins’; Josh drawing in three defenders before producing a one-handed offload to brother Brett to race fifty metres for a 20-6 half-time lead.
After Soward was denied a try by video referee Phil Cooley straight after the break, Cooley earned the ire of a hostile Wollongong crowd by controversially awarding a try to the Broncos Tonie Carroll.
Chasing an innocuous Ennis kick downfield, the veteran Brisbane lock found himself rewarded for a determined chase when the ball took a horrid right-hand break away from the Dragons players, with television replays suggesting that Carroll bobbled the ball while dotting down.
But after countless replays, Cooley awarded a benefit of the doubt try to Carroll, making it game-on at 20-10 with half an hour left to play.
However, the young Broncos backline gifted the Dragons their fourth try in the 61st minute, with a determined chase and bat back off a Soward bomb providing winger Jason Nightingale with his eleventh try of the season.
Nightingale’s second four-pointer wrapped up the match for the Dragons.
St George-Illawarra Dragons 28
Tries: Jason Nightingale 2, Ben Hornby, Dean Young, Brett Morris
Goals: Jamie Soward 4
defeated
Brisbane Broncos 10
Tries: Greg Eastwood, Tonie Carroll
Goals: Michael Ennis
WIN Stadium
Referee – Ben Cummins
In tonight’s earlier game, a youthful South Sydney Rabbitohs has sprung a surprise 35-28 victory over the New Zealand Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium.
In a game that saw 12 tries scored, Souths recorded just their second victory of the season, with Toyota Cup rookie Chris Sandow a standout.
The former Gold Coast rookie was a constant menace for the large Warriors forwards, and he capped off a fine debut by kicking a 79th minute field goal to secure victory for the visiting team.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 35
Tries: Jamie Simpson, Fetuli Talanoa, Manase Manuokafoa, Luke Capewell, Luke Stuart, Ben Lowe
Goals: Isaac Luke 3, Chris Sandow 2, Chris Sandow fg
defeated
New Zealand Warriors 28
Tries: Michael Crockett 3, Patrick Ah Van, Aiden Kirk, Jerome Ropati
Goals: Patrick Ah Van, Lance Hohaia
At Mt Smart Stadium
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