Round 9
Wests Tigers 27 d. St.George-Illawarra Dragons 8

2007 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

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

Where to for the Dragons
Tue May 15, 2007
Wests Tigers after losing their first four matches this season are now looking like one of the top four contenders for the title this season following their 4th successive victory defeating the Dragons 27-8.

On the other hand the St George Illawarra Dragons are at the crossroads and are the only club above the Bulldogs as the biggest under-achievers in the game today with the Warriors 3rd and Panthers 4th.

The Dragons have the talent on the board, but with two shaky wins, six losses and one bye from nine rounds does little to justify their talent despite losing Mark Gasnier to a long-term injury.

Pressure is firmly on coach Nathan Brown who has consistently had the talent on paper and delivered very little in terms of consistency and performances when it matters. Brown is thankful that he has the unbackable support of Chief Executive Peter Doust and both have stuck together like glue.

St George Illawarra could have had the lead in this clash when halfback Matthew Head attempted to grounded the ball with only one hand rather than two hands that saw him lose the ball cold. It was a huge turning point with the Dragons up 8-6 and from there the Wests Tigers put themselves into a position of domination. Two late tries and a drop goal in the final ten minutes saw the scoreline blow out from 16-8 to 27-8.

Brown agreed the Head incident was the turning point and said, "It was definitely the turning point but it was how we reacted that hurt. To let them in from the next set was disappointing.

"They are one of the smartest teams we have come up against, we came here today confident after last week but the Tigers are a good side."

Dragons captain Ben Hornby echoed Brown's thoughts and said, "It was the turning point but we didn't respond well at all which hurt the most."

Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens afetr the match said, "We were there to lose the game. Our body language was down on last week's game. I don't know whether it was because of the high of last week, whether it was because it was a day game, or something we did at training.

"I had more than a couple of injuries during the week, right to the point where Dean Collis made a decision on Saturday to play.

"It was just a combination of things. It was a very flat first half. However we limited their opportunities and they got a steal to get their noses in front.

"I thought we played some reasonable football, it was just our body language. I could just see we were down compared to last week. To stay at the high level that was required for last week's game is not easy to do, but we did enough to win the game.

"At the end of the day, I was happy with the effort everyone put in. We were down, we dug in, and we showed enough class to finish off well.''

So where to for the Dragons from here?

What decisions do they have to make to get out of the current form slump and the under-achieving tag they've carried since making the 1999 Grand Final.


Morris twins and Scott return for Dragons clash against Tigers
Tue May 8, 2007
Source: www.dragons.com.au

The Morris Twins and Beau Scott will return for the Dragons in their Round 9 clash with the Tigers at Telstra Stadium this Sunday.

The Twins, Brett (shoulder) and Josh (Hip) are returning from injury and will take their place on the wings for the first time in just their third game together in the top grade. They will replace Wes Naiqama and Round 8 NRL debutant Jason Nightingale.\\

Beau Scott returns from a two-match suspension and has been named on the five-man interchange.

Unavailable Dragons are Mark Gasnier (pectoral), Simon Woolford (ankle), Ashton Sims (knee), and Tom Hewitt (Hamstring).

Ben Hornby (c), Brett Morris, Chase Stanley, Matt Cooper, Josh Morris, Dean Young, Mathew Head, Justin Poore, Ben Ellis, Jason Ryles (c), Dan Hunt, Chris Houston, Ben Creagh. Interchange: Adam Peek, Danny Wicks, Beau Scott, Rangi Chase, Corey Payne (one to be omitted).

News sent by: www.dragons.com.au

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