Sloan bags three as Flanagan's era starts emphatically

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Gold Coast Titans v St George Illawarra Dragons

A maiden NRL hattrick to Tyrell Sloan has secured an emphatic 28-4 upset victory for the St George Illawarra Dragons over the Gold Coast Titans at CBUS Super Stadium.

Both sides were undergoing another rebuilding phase and a new era would begin in either a winning or losing fashion for Des Hasler or Shane Flanagan. The visitors had some early field position and capitalised early, Tom Eisenhuth was held up in the 2^nd minute of play and the ensuing play delivered results.

The Dragons worked the play down the right edge where Kyle Flanagan and Ben Hunt combined with recruit Ray Faitala-Mariner who broke through some would-be tackles. He was able to offload to Sloan who popped up in the right place at the right time to cross for the first of 2024. Lomax converted from easy range for a 6-0 lead.

Gold Coast would dominate the remainder of the first half having an astounding 34 tackles inside the Dragons 20m zone in the first half. But at every turn, the Dragons would answer and turn them away. However, mistakes began to fatigue the visitors and the Titans pounced. It was a long time coming for the home side and after a multitude of possessions. The Gold Coast Titans have crossed for the first time in 2024. Tom Weaver held his nerve and fired the grubber kick in behind the defensive line and Alofiana Khan-Pereira touched down for the Titans. Tanah Boyd's kick was wide left and it remained a two-point gap at the half time break.

Gold Coast made a cheap mistake coming out of yardage when Brian Kelly spilled possession in his 100th club game. After his father played 3 games in 1987, the Flanagan name finally got on the scoreboard in the famous Red V. Kyle Flanagan got his way through some would-be Titans defence to cross for the first try of the second half (47th minute). Lomax converted for a 12-4 lead.

Seven minutes later, the Dragons added a third try of the contest. Jacob Liddle exposed the middle defence as it was retreating and burst through before finding Sloan who sprinted away to collect his second try of the contest. Lomax converted for a 14 point lead.

After being under siege for most of the first half, the Dragons continued to put the Titans to the sword. Eight minutes after Sloan's double, a clever grubber from Hunt was scooped up by Lomax to cross for their third try of the second half. The conversion from the right touchline was waved away for a 22-4 margin. Sloan grabbed a hattrick four minutes later after some superb lead-up work from Hunt and Flanagan finding the speedy fullback who burnt some suspect defence to score. Lomax converted from in front for a 28-4 verdict and that is where our scoreline remained after 80 minutes.

The Dragons showcased some brilliant attacking football and steel defence. While the Titans need to go back to the drawing board, after a good first half. The defence evaporated like we've seen in previous seasons. So clearly a lot to work on for the home side, while the visitors will be hopeful of more consistent outings like what we saw tonight.

Match Highlights - #NRLTitansDragons

A Tyrell Sloan hat-trick led the Dragons to a statement win over the Titans! pic.twitter.com/nkSprSxa6b
— NRL (@NRL) March 9, 2024