Dragons outclass Warriors in windy Wollongong

At a cold and windy WIN Stadium, the St George Illawarra Dragons have come away 28-10 victors over the New Zealand Warriors tonight.

Dominating possession and scoring six tries to two, the Dragons never looked like losing.

With an erratic but strong wind at their backs, Saints held an 8-6 lead before crossing for two tries just before the break. At half time, the home side held a handy 18-6 lead.

But the wind wasn't doing any favours for the either side's kicking game with the ball going out the full more than once, and blowing off the kicking tee on two occasions.

With New South Wales and Australian front rower Jason Ryles making plenty of in-roads, the Dragons maintained repeat sets at a desperate Warriors' line.

The Warriors struck back with a try to Francis Meli in the 68th minute, this being small comfort with Saints continuing to dominate play just wide of the ruck.

The Dragons finally put the match beyond doubt when Ashton Sims backed up to score under the posts, following another trademark charge from Ryles.

WIN Stadium Referee: Jason Robinson

Scorers: DRAGONS 28 Tries: Carlaw, Riddell, Simmonds, Hornby, Youngquest, Sims Goals: Riddell 1/3, Head 1/3 defeated WARRIORS 10 Tries: Webb, Meli Goals: Jones 1/2

By the clock: 0 min: A cold night in windy Wollongong as players come onto the field. Warriors as per the card. For the Dragons, Ashton Sims in the run-on side, Justin Poore on the bench. The wind favouring Saints. Kickoff!

7 min: NEWS - no score as yet with both sides having opportunities.

10 min: TRY - Dragons. John Carlaw scores in the corner from a Ben Hornby grubber. Conversion Riddell a difficult one in the breezy conditions and is waved away. Dragons 4-0

NEWS - Warriors kickoff is out on the full!

14 min: TRY - Dragons. Mark Riddell charges over from 3 metres out following a penalty and quick tap. Conversion 5m wide of goal is badly hooked by Riddell. Dragons 8-0

20 min: TRY - Warriors. Brent Webb scores after he sights an opening close to the line. Conversion Stacey Jones 10m from goal is successful. Dragons 8-6

23 min: NEWS - Referee hands out the 10th penalty of the match so far with both sides guilty of various infringements.

28 min: NO TRY - Dragons denied after obstruction ruling from the video ref. Dragons applying plenty of pressure.

33 min: NO TRY - Warriors denied when Clinton Toopi loses the ball over the line and seems to go into touch as well.

36 min: TRY - Dragons. Reece Simmonds scores. Follows a cross-field run from Shaun Timmins who draws in the defence, attempts a flick pass to Simmonds, the ball coming off his knee. He then follows through with a neat pick up to score 10m in from touch. Conversion attempt from Mathew Head unsuccessful. Dragons 12-6

38 min: TRY - Dragons Ben Hornby scores out wide following a good ball from Trent Barrett. Hornby finding space through the centres. Conversion attempt delayed as ball is blown off the tee. Mathew Head then gets another player (Justin Poore) to hold the ball with his finger. And the kick is a ripper! Dragons 18-6

HALF TIME SUMMARY: With a blustery wind at their backs, the Dragons will be thankful for two late tries in the first half. Despite having more ball, the Dragons are sometimes battling against the big Warriors pack. Nevertheless, the Warriors missed a lot of tackles and will have to improve. The strong breeze is sometimes all over the place and a little unreliable for the kickers. Half time score: Dragons 18-6

Second half underway...

50 min: TRY - Dragons. Nick Youngquest scores in the corner off a Mathew Head pass. Another difficult conversion attempt into the teeth of the breeze is unsuccessful. Dragons 22-6

58 min: NEWS - Dragons getting repeat sets at the Warriors line and it seems to be only a matter of time. Warriors with their 6th line drop out of the night.

60 min: NO TRY - Mark Riddell for the Dragons held up over the line, following a quick tap.

65 min: NEWS - Dragons getting a mountain of posession. The Warriors have been desperate in defence and survive. The visitors however, are being caught out just wide of the ruck.

68 min: TRY - Warriors. Francis Meli scores in the corner as the Warriors get a rare opportunity at the other other end of the field. Unfortunately, the replay shows Meli going into touch, but the referee never called for the video ref. But a try is a try and the Warriors are still a chance. Conversion from Jones misses. Dragons 22-10

74 min: TRY - Dragons. Ashton Sims backing up and scores under the posts. Follows a tremendous run up the middle from Jason Ryles. Conversion Riddell. Dragons 28-10

78 min: NEWS - Warriors come close after a Jones grubber kick, Wairangi Koopu unable take the loose ball cleanly. Handling being a problem for the Warriors tonight.

FULL TIME SUMMARY: A professional display from the Dragons who never looked like losing as they dominated the ruck all night. Everyone is the Saints' pack putting in the yards, Jason Ryles being the stand-out. Halfback Mathew Head also standing up in the second half on the fringes of the ruck. For the Warriors, they missed far too many tackles and with a poor completion rate, struggled to maintain possession all night.

----------------------------------------- Leagueunlimited.com players of the match: 3 - J Ryles (Dragons) 2 - M Head (Dragons) 1 - B Kite (Dragons) -----------------------------------------