Dragons dominate Eels at Kogarah

A clinical St George Illawarra Dragons have run out easy 30-0 winners over the Parramatta Eels at WIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah tonight.

The Eels faced an uphill battle from before a ball was even kicked, with inspirational captain Nathan Hindmarsh injured in the warm up.

The first half was a grinding affair, both teams had some good field position but failed to capitalise. The Eels, in particular, looked disjointed in attack.

The Dragons scored the only try of the first half in the 28th minute when, deep in his own half, Ben Hornby cleverly went down the blind side and threw a sharp cut-out ball to Brett Morris. Morris exploded down the sideline and found Hornby backing up on the inside to open the scoring.

Soward added a penalty goal five minutes later when Ben Smith was penalised for stripping the ball right in front of the posts.

The match was evenly balanced for the first ten minutes of the second half. The Eels had some good field position, but their attack looked clueless and they struggled to create any real scoring opportunities. When Brett Morris streaked onto a suspiciously flat cut out pass from Darius Boyd to make it 14-0 it looked to be an uphill battle for the visitors. The Dragons then turned the screws in the last twenty five minutes, throwing the ball around and scoring three more tries to run out very convincing winners.

Match Details
St George Illawarra Dragons 30 defeated Parramatta Eels 0
National Rugby League - NRL - Round 12 - Friday May 28, 2010 7:35pm
Venue: WIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah
Referee: Jared Maxwell and Ben Cummins
Video Referee: Sean Hampstead
Touch Judges: Jeff Younis and Grant Atkins
Crowd: 15,068
Halftime: St George Illawarra Dragons 8 Parramatta Eels 0

Leagueunlimited.com players of the match:
3 Points - Darius Boyd
2 Points - Ben Hornby (1 Try)
1 Point - Beau Scott

St George Illawarra Dragons (30)
Tries: Ben Hornby, Jamie Soward, Brett Morris, Jason Nightingale, Kyle Stanley
Conversions: Jamie Soward (4/5)
Penalty Goals: Jamie Soward (1/1)

Parramatta Eels (0)

LeagueUnlimited.com Live Commentary We are moments before kick off here and there is controversy already with Nathan Hindmarsh withdrawing and questions being asked about whether he can be replaced. It has apparently been rectified with Horror to start and Brendan Oake to come on to the bench.
3 min: The Eels have had two sets in good position after two Dragons errors. Tahu finds some space but his flick pass to Burt is spilled into touch.
5 min: Burt defuses a dangerous Dean Young kick a metre out from his line after a long break from Michael Weyman put the Dragons on the attack.
10 min: Dragons are exerting some pressure but the Eels hold firm on their line, not falling for a big Hornby dummy on the last.
11 min: Eels go on the attack, after Costigan spills the ball in his own half
16 min: A couple of attacking sets for the Eels come to nothing as Tahu spills the ball over the sideline after creating a half chance.
20 min: Young spills the ball in good attacking position after Boyd had set up a long Jamie Soward break down the sideline.
25 min: Neither side are generating many chances, the game largely being played between the two twenty metre lines.
28 min: TRY
Hornby scores after throwing a beautiful cut out pass to Morris deep in their own half then backing up on the inside to score.
St George Illawarra Dragons 6-0
31 min: The Eels get a set in good attacking position after a penalty but after an uninspired set a Jayrrd Hayne bomb sails out on the full.
35 min: PENALTY GOAL
Soward lands a penalty after Ben Smith is penalised for stripping thirty meters out from the Eels line.
St George Illawarra Dragons 8-0
40 min: Half Time here at Win. Its been a somewhat dour first half, with neither team really getting out of first gear.
41 min: Second half underway here at WIN with the Dragons kicking off.
44 min: Matt Prior makes a long break after smart offloads from Weyman and Boyd but spills the ball a couple of meters out when Hayne hits him with a heavy last-ditch tackle.
47 min: The Dragons really seem to finding their rhythm. Making several half breaks and going close to scoring through Beau Scott.
49 min: Green spills the ball with the Dragons on the attack
51 min: The Eels earn a repeat set after a well-placed kick from Kris Keating ends their most promising set of the game.
53 min: TRY
A sharp (though very flat) Darius Boyd cut-out pass finds a flying Brett Morris 40 meters out from the Eels line. Hayne can't get to Morris in time to attempt a tackle.
St George Illawarra Dragons 14-0
58 min: Excellent scrambling Dragons defence denies the Eels after Burt had caught a smart chip from Mortimer.
60 min: Eels get another chance to attack after Costigan loses the ball in a tackle deep in his own half.
63 min: Brett Morris gets up very slowly after a lifting tackle from Cayless. Cayless is placed on report.
66 min: TRY
Stanley is on the spot after Inu spills a pinpoint Soward bomb.
St George Illawarra Dragons 18-0
70 min: TRY
Dragons are starting to rack up a score now, Nightingale dives over after good lead up work from Matt Prior.
St George Illawarra Dragons 24-0
75 min: TRY Jamie Soward goes through a wide gap after kicking cross field and being on hand to take the final pass. Converts his own try.
St George Illawarra Dragons 30-0