Premier League - Magpies V Dragons
- Round 16

Magpies Unable to Hang On. Written by West Football Club Monday, 27 June 2005 The Magpies were hit hard by injuries leading into this game and had to call on Shannon Gallant and Peter Mannion from Jersey Flegg and four players from the Balmain Tigers in order to field a team. The Magpies were fortunate in that the Jersey Flegg team had a bye. Despite a spirited performance Wests were unable to hold out the Dragons and went down 20-10.

The team travelled to the Dragons lair where they were met by a vocal crowd and a rain drenched ground. From the kick off the boy?s enthusiasm was obvious and they went straight on the attack. In the 4th minute the ball moved to five eight Ben Roberts, who put in a clever kick which was gathered in by winger Michael Crockett and the Magpies took an early 4 ? 0 lead.

The Magpies continued to play well, and with a bit of luck could have scored a couple of extra tries, but their consistency was rewarded in the 20th minute when young full back Shannon Gallant received an offload from prop Aaron Sweeney, and he ran 50 metres to score under the posts, leaving several Dragons players in his wake. Ben Roberts added the extras, taking the score to 10 ? 0. The clouds opened and the remainder of the game was played in very wet conditions.

The Dragons lifted with some clever kicking in general play. Two quick converted tries saw the Dragons take a half time lead 12 ? 10.

The second half saw the Dragons with a majority of possession, however the Magpies, led by the forwards, tackled themselves to a standstill. An injury saw Ben Roberts leave the field and his direction and kicking game was sorely missed. The score remained unchanged until the closing stages when the Dragons scored their third try and with the conversion and a late penalty, they took out the game 20 ? 10.

The Magpies were a vastly improved team and several players lifted their games substantially, and although they lost the game, head coach Steve Georgallis praised the effort of all 17 players.

Best for the Magpies ? Aaron Sweeney, Jeff Lima, Michael Crockett, Shannon Gallant and Isaac De Gois.

Tries: Crockett, Gallant Goal: Roberts

Premier League plays Newtown at Henson Park on Saturday 2 July 2005 at 3pm.

Jersey Flegg plays Cronulla at Henson Park on Saturday 2 July 2005 at 1.15pm.