Round 22
Eels 28 d. Dragons 6

2006 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: Aus_NZ > National > First Grade Competition: NRL Telstra Premiership

Eels continue winning streak as Dragons comically crash
Fri August 4, 2006
Parramatta are now entrenched in the top eight and here to stay after a commanding 28-6 victory against a woeful and ill-disciplined St George Illawarra outfit in wet conditions at Parramatta Stadium tonight.

Mathew Head gave the Dragons an early 2-0 lead with a penalty goal. Their perfect start continued when Trent Barrett put up a superb bomb where Colin Best spectacularly caught on the full to score with commentators bringing back memories of the Grand Final special produced by Greg Brentnall and Steve Gearin. However, the Best try was the last bit of joy the Dragons would have as errors would rapidly come into their game and played with a complete lack of discipline.

Parramatta on the other hand played a very smart game and took advantage of the errors from their opponents and once they got in front just sweated on the Dragons lack of patience to cash in on the points.

Luke Burt continued his point scoring spree since being recalled to the top grade last week when he scored Parramatta's first try diving on the ball following a great grubber kick from John Morris. Burt converted his own try to level up the scores.

Eric Grothe Jnr scored right on the stroke of half-time to give Parramatta a 10-6 lead and it was extended to 16-6 just after the break when Grothe scored his second try. Burt converted Grothe's second try to open up a 16-6 lead.

The Dragons completely lost their way after that moment giving away silly penalties and playing panic football in the wet conditions where lost possession was going to be the only result. Burt landed two penalty goals to push the Eels lead out to 20-6. During that time Danny Wicks spent ten minutes in the sin bin after holding down in the play the ball. The Dragons were penalised for being off-side from an Eels 20m tap restart, adding to their discipline woes.

Chad Robinson sealed victory for the Eels when a grubber kick from Dean Widders was messed up by the Dragons with Robinson on the spot to score. Burt converted the try and added a late penalty goal for a 28-6 victory.

An excellent crowd of 19,137 was in attendance in terrible Sydney conditions to witness the Eels win seven matches on the trot and the Dragons lose their 4th in succession.

Parramatta is no longer a contender for the top eight, they are there and there to stay. The Eels have every right to regard themselves as a genuine top three side along with Melbourne and Canterbury and the wonders Jason Taylor has done as Coach is an inspiration to anyone. The talent is there at Parramatta and it has taken Taylor's relaxed approach to get the best out of them. Taylor is off to South Sydney next year and the odds of him being the Head Coach next year are shortening by the day. The best Shaun McRae can hope for at Souths is being Coach by name only.

St George Illawarra haven't won a game since narrowly going down to the Bulldogs in a blockbuster and the returns of Barrett and Jason Ryles have wreaked havoc with the form and confidence gained by the Dragons during their impressive winning streak before the Bulldogs loss has all but now gone. The moment of truth had arrived for Barrett and he failed to deliver. This website has copped plenty of criticism for suggesting that the Dragons are pretenders and not contenders and that Barrett hasn't consistently delivered like over big name halves.

The Dragons have the best side on paper and the best depth in the Premiership, however Premiership's aren't won on paper or they would be in the Grand Final against the Roosters. The Dragons can turn it around but it has to be asked whether they have the mental toughness to go far when the pressure is applied to them.

Can the Dragons bounce back?

Is Parramatta the biggest threat to a Melbourne vs Canterbury Grand Final?

Have YOUR SAY in our feedback section below.


NRL punters betting on lightning striking twice
Fri August 4, 2006
Source: Centrebet

Centrebet has been forced to slash its odds on a field goal being the first scoring play of tonight's NRL match between Parramatta and St George Illawarra as punters bet on lightning striking twice.

Bets are raining in on a one-pointer ($67.00 from $251.00 with Centrebet) opening the scoring at Parramatta Stadium, just as it did when the Eels and the Dragons clashed on a wet night in June.

Parramatta is Centrebet's $1.87 favourite to win the blockbuster. The Eels are $1.70 to qualify for the NRL Finals Series and $13.00 to win the NRL Premiership after a dreadful start to the season.

NRL Round 22 match
$1.87 Parramatta
$1.95 St George Illawarra

First scoring play
$2.22 Parramatta try
$2.25 St George Illawarra try
$9.00 Parramatta penalty goal
$9.00 St George Illawarra penalty goal
$67.00 field goal (either team)
$251.00 penalty try (either team)

Round 22 Teams, STATS and Predictions

NRL Betting Odds
Super League Betting Odds

Advanced Search