St George dispose of sloppy Sydney

A determined performance from the St George Illawarra Dragons has seen them triumph with a nail biting 19-12 victory over an error-riddled Sydney Roosters at a packed Sydney Cricket Ground.

At a picturesque SCG, the Dragons trailed 6-4 at the break but clicked into gear in the second half.

A Jamie Soward penalty goal levelled things up at 6-all before the Dragons snatched the lead for the first time in the 59th minute when Ben Creagh strode through the line and touched down under the posts to give his side a 12-4 advantage.

Soward's boot then added an extra one point, providing a seven point lead with just over ten minutes left on the clock.

St George looked to have the game wrapped up but Todd Carney had other ideas. The Roosters five-eighth did it all himself - he sold a dummy to score a brilliant individual try, before converting from the sideline to reduce the deficit to 13-12.

But in an error that summed up their afternoon, Sydney fumbled the ensuing kick off to kill their momentum and, when Dragons hooker Dean Young burrowed over from dummy half in the 74th minute, the game was again out of reach.

The Dragons won the game in the forwards, with impressive games coming from Michael Weyman and Ben Creagh in particular.

Earlier, the Roosters got off to a dream start when Anthony Minichiello crossed after capitalising on a Frank-Paul Nuuausala break in the opening 10 minutes. The try was shrouded in controversy though - the ball appeared to be lost forward off the veteran fullback's hands - but the video referee ruled otherwise.

As the first half progressed, St George started to work themselves into the game - they finally converted pressure into points when Jason Nightingale dived over in the corner in the 32nd minute.

The Roosters made too many errors in the remainder of the match, while St George returned to their clinical best to get home 19-12 victors.

In injury news, young Roosters back Kane Linnett left the field with what looked like a fairly serious knee complaint.

The win keeps the Dragons in top spot and almost certainly assures them of the Minor Premiership in 2010.

Match Details
Sydney Roosters 12 were defeated by St George Illawarra Dragons 19
National Rugby League - NRL - Round 22 - Sunday August 8, 2010 3:00pm
Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground
Referee: Tony Archer and Alan Shortall
Video Referee: Bill Harrigan
Touch Judges: Steve Carrall and Paul Holland
Crowd: 37994
Halftime: Sydney Roosters 6 St George Illawarra Dragons 4

Leagueunlimited.com players of the match:
3 Points - Darius Boyd
2 Points - Michael Weyman
1 Point - Ben Hornby

SYDNEY ROOSTERS (12)
Tries: Todd Carney, Anthony Minichiello
Conversions: Todd Carney (2/2)

ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS (19)
Tries: Ben Creagh, Dean Young, Jason Nightingale
Field Goals: Jamie Soward (1/1)
Conversions: Jamie Soward (2/3)
Penalty Goals: Jamie Soward (1/2)

LeagueUnlimited.com Live Commentary Welcome to the Sydney Cricket Ground, the traditional home of rugby league, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon for this tantalising clash between Sydney and St George Illawarra.

The Roosters are without doubt the form team of the competition, while the Dragons are still in first place but looking to improve their attack. Should be a cracker!

Sydney claimed the U20s 39-26.

Team changes..
Sydney: Mitchell Aubusson is out, his spot in the starting lineup is taken by Daniel Conn. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves replaces Martin Kennedy and Mose Masoe is the new player on the bench.
Dragons: Veteran Luke Priddis drops off the bench with Nathan Fien returning from injury in jersey 19.
Massive crowd today as everyone is upstanding for the national anthem.
1 min: Dragons kick off!
2 min: A Roosters chant reverberates around the stadium - great atmosphere already.
3 min: Dragons penalised for offside, helping the Roosters into their half.
4 min: Jason Nightingale does extremely well to field a Pearce bomb and stay in the field of play.
7 min: Dan Conn goes within inches of scoring but a loose ball is fumbled by the Dragons - Roosters get another set on the attack.
8 min: Kane Linnett is in all sorts of trouble with what looks like a knee injury, he leaves the field and won't be back today.
9 min: Video referee - possible Roosters try..
9 min: TRY
Sydney Roosters TRY
Frank-Paul Nuuausala makes a half break before passing back to Anthony Minichiello, who looked to have fumbled but the video referee rules it rebounded off his knees. Carney converts.
Sydney Roosters 6-0
11 min: Penalty now for the Dragons after the Roosters were caught inside the 10 metres.
12 min: Dragons putting some real pressure on the Sydney line but their defence holds strong.
16 min: Shaun Kenny-Dowall flings it out to his winger but it goes straight through Perrett's hands and over the sideline.
18 min: St George inside Sydney's 20 metre zone after a stupid penalty conceeded by Jason Ryles on the fifth tackle.
19 min: Video referee - possible Dragons try..
19 min: No Try! Ben Creagh jumps high for a kick but gets a tap forward - knock on.
21 min: Stunning play there from Soward! Like a thief in the night he's taken the ball one-on-one from Leilua.
22 min: Roosters starting to make some errors - they can't keep inviting the Dragons into the game.
24 min: Penalty count 4-2 in favour of St George.
25 min: Hornby and Cooper probing on the left hand side of the field but they can't get through just yet.
27 min: Two line drop outs in a row forced by the Dragons.
29 min: Ben Hornby puts through a grubber but it's knocked on by a team mate, undoing the pressure.
32 min: TRY
St George Illawarra Dragons TRY
Jason Nightingale scores in the corner after some quick catching and passing by his inside men - it followed a break up the middle from Ben Hornby. Soward fails to convert from the sideline.
Sydney Roosters 6-4
34 min: Dragons starting to find another gear now, as Minichiello knocks on from a bomb.
35 min: PENALTY GOAL ATTEMPT
Roosters are penalised for offside but Jamie Soward's penalty goal hits the posts and misses.
Sydney Roosters 6-4
37 min: Matt Cooper gets the ball away to Morris but the winger is cut down by the cover defence.
38 min: Video referee - possible Dragons try..
38 min: No Try! Brett Morris is ruled to have placed a foot on the touchline before he reached out to ground the ball.
Halftime: Sydney had the better of the early play but the Dragons are the ones with the momentum at the moment - they really started to click into gear in the minutes before the break. However, despite the feel of the game, it's the Roosters who have lead where it counts.
41 min: Underway in the second half.
42 min: Dragons breaking the line at will early in the second half as Boyd is dragged down centimetres short.
47 min: Todd Carney and Anasta have clashed heads and they don't know where they are..
48 min: It all goes haywire for St George, Beau Scott knocks on and then Saffy picks up the ball from an offside position.
50 min: How quickly a game can change.. the Roosters now pressuring St George's line and an Anasta grubber forces a repeat set.
52 min: Jamie Soward attempts a 40/20 but it's about five metres too short.
53 min: Kenny-Dowall has a daydream and knocks on at dummy half - Roosters error count starting to mount.
54 min: PENALTY GOAL
Jamie Soward adds an extra two to even things up following a penalty against Sydney.
6 all
57 min: Darius Boyd starting to make some real inroads on kick returns, danger signs for the Roosters.
59 min: TRY
St George Illawarra Dragons TRY
Ben Creagh strides through the defence off an inside pass from Ben Hornby and dives over under the posts. Finally the pressure and field position has told. Soward converts.
St George Illawarra Dragons 12-6
62 min: A massive run from Mick Weyman puts St George on the attack again.
65 min: Michael Weyman can't stay out of the action - he keeps the ball alive but Sydney fall on the loose pass.
66 min: Nate Myles fumbles, that's the 13th error from the Roosters today.
68 min: FIELD GOAL
St George Illawarra FIELD GOAL
Jamie Soward, as cool as a cucumber, slots the one pointer from just under 40 metres out.
St George Illawarra Dragons 13-6
70 min: TRY
Sydney Roosters TRY
Well this throws a cat amongst the pigeons! A great dummy from Todd Carney sees him score a great individual try to get his side back in the game. Carney converts from the sideline.
St George Illawarra Dragons 13-12
72 min: Jason Ryles knocks it on from the kick off! Oh my.. Roosters supporters wouldn't have any hair left after today.
76 min: TRY
St George Illawarra Dragons TRY
Dean Young shows strength to burrow over from dummy half - he caught the defence napping. Soward converts to seal the game for the Dragons.
St George Illawarra Dragons 19-12
79 min: Saffy gets smashed by Masoe - it's a little too late though unfortunately.
Fulltime: A very professional Dragons effort has seen them triumph over a Roosters side that made too many errors, they went close though but St George were the better team.