The St George Illawarra Dragons have put two disappointing performances behind them with a 20-12 win over the Manly Sea Eagles in front of 16,000 fans at WIN Stadium.
In a game that could hardly be called a classic, it was a brilliant start for the visitors as Tom Trbojevic managed to conjure an offload out of nowhere when he had five defenders on him for Tolu Koula who only need to catch and put the ball down to score.
The Dragons hit back soon after when Jack Bird was able to dive on a loose ball after the kick was lost backwards by the Sea Eagles. The Red ‘V' were denied twice by the bunker with Moses Suli denied an effort with an obstruction from Luciano Leilua opening a gap meanwhile Mikaele Ravalawa was driven into touch.
Eventually the Dragons were able to crack the line twice inside the final five minutes of the first half when Tyrell Sloan went through the defence just a couple of plays after Luciano Leilua probably bombed a certain try after not electing to pass to a man on the outside. The Dragons third try of the half came when Jaydn Su'a was able to get over from close range.
Neither try was converted surprisingly by Zac Lomax who won't want to see the first of the two missed conversions as the ball ended up closer to the sideline and the 20m line than what it did at the posts.
The second half was a pretty shocking half with neither side earning themselves a potential job with armaguard as they just struggled to protect the ball when they had possession of it. The Dragons defence though was one thing that was secure as it kept coming under pressure from the Sea Eagles and kept turning them away.
An effort for the Sea Eagles was denied by the bunker when somewhat bizarrely Jaxon Paulo was awarded a try on field when he was trying to reach over Mikaele Ravalawa to ground the ball and despite it looking like a knock-on, referee Ashley Klein awarded it until the bunker overturned it.
It wasn't long until the Dragons took advantage when Tyrell Sloan picked up his second of the night when there was space in the middle and he chased through a Ben Hunt kick to score under the posts. Another effort late in the half saw Jack Bird denied when he lost the ball trying to get it down.
The Sea Eagles took advantage of some late possession after more ill-discipline from the Dragons gave them a big opportunity to fight their way back and a consolation try gave them half a sniff but like the rest of the half, ball control failed them again.
Next week, the Dragons head to Newcastle for a clash against the Knights on Friday night whilst the Sea Eagles will really need to improve with a clash against the three time defending premiers Penrith at Brookvale.