Round 10
St.George-Illawarra Dragons 28 d. Gold Coast Titans 10

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

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

Dragons bounce back with impressive win
Sun May 20, 2007
St George Illawarra returned to the winners circle on Friday night with an impressive 28-10 victory against competition newcomers Gold Coast Titans.

Losses in successive weeks against lower placed Sydney sides has all but ended the Titans honey moon period after losing at home to the Cowboys the week before. The introduction of the Gold Coast has been a great decision by the NRL and they've proved their worth off the field and been competitive on the field. However, it now appears they'll be consigned in a race for the spoon with the Roosters, Dragons, Panthers and Bulldogs.

The pressure was on Dragons coach Nathan Brown with a minority fan group setting up a campaign to remove him as coach and oust Peter Doust as CEO. Despite the injuries currently at the Dragons, they have one of the better playing rosters, get free leg ups into representative sides and have been consistent under-achievers since making the 1999 Grand Final.

St George Illawarra crossed first in the 9th minute when Matthew Head put in a grubber behind the line for Wes Naiqama to score and later convert for an opening 6-0 lead.

With Mat Rogers in fine form, the Titans worked themselves into Dragons territory and on the last tackle a well placed bomb by Matt Hilder saw Mat Petersen jump above Josh Morris for score outwide. Rogers was unable to convert with the Dragons holding a two point lead.

Adam Peek crossed five minutes before half-time to extend the lead out to 12-4 following good work from Head, Dean Young and Beau Scott with Peek in the right position to score his first try in Dragons colours after previous stints with the Bulldogs, Rabbitohs and Eels. Head took over the goal kicking duties with Naiqama out of the match and now season with a knee ligament injury to push the Dragons eight points clear.

Corey Payne got the Dragons off to the perfect start in the second half when he hit and spun out of a Titans tackle to score from close range. Head added the extras to push the Dragons into the comfort zone leading 18-4.

Jason Nightingale scored the try of the night and one of the best planned tries of the season in the 51st minute. Ben Hornby packed in at lock from a Dragons scrum feed on the 40m line and he delivered a nice short ball to halfback Head from the base of the scrum and Head kicked over the top with Nightingale having too much pace for the Titans cover to score under the posts. Head added his 3rd conversion for the match as the Dragons raced out to a 24-4 lead.

Scott Prince grabbed one back for the Titans five minutes later to reduce the score to 24-10 following Rogers conversion, but any attempts of a comeback were put to bed in the 62nd minute when Ashton Sims crossed over.

No points were scored in the final 18 minutes as the Dragons held on to win 28-10 and get their season back on track.

After the match, Dragons coach Brown said, "It's always good to have a win, we scrambled well in defence all night I thought.

"I thought we were clearly the better team throughout the first half and we continued that in the second half."

Brown's position has been under intense pressure in recent weeks with both Brown and the Roosters Chris Anderson rumoured to be sackings before the season is out. When asked about the speculation of his future, Brown said, "It's part of the job, we all go to work and work hard which is what I've been doing. Hopefully we have a few more wins and the heat will turn on to someone else."

The Dragons lost Naiqama in the first half to a season ending knee injury and also lost co-captain Jason Ryles early in the second half. However, Ryles believes the injury is not that serious and said, "It was a medial strain but should not be anymore than a week. It happened when we were leading 18-4 so we thought it was best not to risk any further damage.

"It was a good team effort tonight, for us to have key players back in the major positions will help us over the next few weeks"


Sims returns for Titans clash
Tue May 15, 2007
Source: www.dragons.com.au

Local Junior Ashton Sims will return from a knee injury for the Dragons in their Round 10 clash with the Titans at WIN Stadium this Sunday.

Sims will start in the backrow, replacing Chris Houston and Wes Naiqama will replace NSW Origin representative Matt Cooper in the centres.

Corey Payne, Ben Ellis and Sam Isemonger have all been named on the interchange for their NRL return. Dan Hunt will play Premier League along with Houston.

The Dragons will be looking to repeat their Round 1 efforts where they defeated the Titans 20-18 at Suncorp Stadium.

Unavailable Dragons are Mark Gasnier (pectoral), Brett Morris (shoulder), and Tom Hewitt (Hamstring).

NRL v Gold Coast Titans
7.30pm Friday 18 May
WIN Stadium

Coach: Nathan Brown

1. Ben Hornby (c)
2. Jason Nightingale
3. Chase Stanley
4. Wes Naiqama
5. Josh Morris
6. Dean Young
7. Mathew Head
8. Justin Poore
9. Simon Woolford
10. Jason Ryles (c)
11. Ashton Sims
12. Beau Scott
13. Ben Creagh

Interchange:
14. Adam Peek
15. Danny Wicks
16. Corey Payne
17. Ben Elliss
18. Sam Isemonger

News sent by: www.dragons.com.au

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