 The St George Illawarra Dragons have continued their impressive form to register their fifth consecutive victory in defeating competition leaders Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium this afternoon in front of 48, 995 fans.
Coach Nathan Brown was happy with his sides performance and isn't phased "competition favourites" tag his team is sure to attract.
"I am happy that we performed well again this week but we still didn't take all of the opportunities that we created today so there is still room for improvement," said Brown. "Our defence was good again and we scrambled particularly well which was important."
"I'm not phased at the thought of being labeled competition favourites, at least we have put some good performances in over the past weeks to be considered in that bracket," said Brown.
The first half was tight and close encounter with both teams making uncharacteristic mistakes and wasting opportunities. It wasn't until the 32nd minute when Dragons skipper Trent Barrett ran 60m to score. Barrett received the ball from Michael Ennis at dummy half and ran through the middle of the ruck largely uncontested to outpace Karlmichael Hunt down the right hand side. Ennis then converted from the sideline to make it 6-0, the only score in the first half.
The second half began in a similar fashion to the first and it wasn't until the 47th minute when the next points were scored by Corey Payne. Payne ran from dummy half and spun out of an attempted tackle by Neville Costigan to score next to the left post. Ennis converted to take the lead to 12-0.
The Broncos were the next to score after Lockyer spread the ball to the right with Hodges finishing the try. Brett Seymour was unsuccessful with the conversion and the competition leaders didn't score any further points in the afternoon.
In the 68th minute Wes Naiqama cut inside Lockyer and broke through the Broncos defence to run 60m before finding the flying Colin Best backing up on the inside who raced over to score his 17th try for the season. Ennis converted taking the score to 18-4.
Five minutes from full-time Broncos winger Leon Bott knocked the ball on from a kick giving the Dragons possession to the 15min out. During the following set Ben Hornby sliced through the Brisbane defence to reach out and score under the posts. Ennis again converted scoring the final points of the afternoon giving the Dragons a convincing 24-4 victory over the competition leaders.
The Dragons take on the second-placed Eels at Oki Jubilee Stadium next Sunday. Fans are advised to pre-purchase tickets early to avoid disappointment is what is expected to be another capacity crowd.
To purchase tickets online click here...
|
St George Leagues Club
NEWS
