Dragons flex muscle in big trial win

The St George Illawarra Dragons have demolished the New Zealand Warriors 40-10 at Trafalgar Park, Nelson on Saturday afternoon in front of close to 10,000 fans.

The Dragons ran in eight tries to the Warriors two in a dominant team performance to outclass the home team in what was a special occasion for hometown hero Simon Mannering as he captained the Warriors for the final time.

After soaking up some early pressure it was the Dragons who opened the scoring in the 8thminute with the first shift right of the ball. Center Josh Dugan proved too strong for the Warriors left edge defence, attracting three defenders then slipping the ball to winger Euan Aitken who crossed untouched and managed to bring the ball 10m closer to the uprights.

Captain Gareth Widdop converted to give the Dragons the early 6-0 lead.

It was Dugan again this time flying onto a swift pass from halfback Benji Marshall and crashing over in the 19th minute. Widdop converted to give the Dragons a 12-0 lead.

The Warriors hit back in the 23rd minute when fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck threw a slick cut-out pass to winger Solomone Kata who crossed untouched in the corner. Isaac Luke missed the conversion, the Dragons leading 12-4.

The Dragons extended their lead in the final minute of the first half when a strong tackle from Jack de Belin forced the ball loose just 10m out from the Warriors defensive line.

A set play from the scrum saw Marshall creatively put fullback Kurt Mann into a gap and the fullback scored 15m adjacent to the right hand upright. Widdop made it three from three to send the Dragons into the half-time break with an 18-4 lead.

The Dragons came out firing in the second half and forced another defensive error close to the Warriors try line and Marshall again made the Warriors pay with another short pass, this time to back rower Tyrone McCarthy who crashed over for his first Dragons try. Widdop was again successful with the conversion, the Dragons leading 28-4.

Marshall was at it again just a few minutes later, this time throwing the long cut-out pass to Aitken who raced down the sideline and battled with the covering Warriors defence to score his second try of the afternoon. Widdop missed the sideline conversion, the Dragons extending their lead to 28-4.

The next points came from an unplanned when Prop Leeson Ah Mau took charge, putting a neat grubber in behind the Warriors defenders and re-gathering before flicking the pass out to Josh Dugan who was caught at the try-line but found Jack de Belin trailing on the inside who scored next to the posts. Widdop converted to extend the Dragons lead 34-4 at the third quarter break.

The home team hit back early in the fourth quarter with a slick shift out to the right catching the Dragons left edge defenders short and Warriors winger Jonathan Wright crossed untouched close to the sideline. Tuimala Lolohea converted to bring the score up to 34-10.

Five-eighth Widdop then followed the lead of Ah Mau and put a grubber in behind the Warriors defensive line that was spilt by the Warriors fullback Lololhea enabling Widdop to re-gather and score under the posts and convert his own try to give the Dragons a 30 point lead 40-10 in the 67th minute.

The final points of the afternoon came off the back of another Warriors penalty and hooker Siliva Havili took advantage of the absent markers and charged through the gap to cross under the posts against his former team. With Widdop off the field young Taane Milne converted to take the score to 46-10 in the 78th minute to give the Dragons a satisfying and confidence building victory ahead of the start of the season.

Match Details

Warriors 10 St. George Illawarra Dragons 46
Venue: Trafalgar Park
Crowd: TBC (approx 9,900)
Halftime Score: Warriors 4 St. George Illawarra Dragons 18

WARRIORS (10)
Tries: Solomone Kata, Jonathan Wright
Conversions: Issac Luke (0/1), Tuimoala Lolohea (1/1)

ST. GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS (46)
Tries: Euan Aitken (2), Gareth Widdop, Josh Dugan, Kurt Mann, Tyrone McCarthy, Jack de Belin, Siliva Havili
Conversions: Gareth Widdop (6/7), Taane Milne (1/1)