Round 24
St.George-Illawarra Dragons 14 d. Parramatta Eels 6

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

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

Dragons perform above weight to claim victory
Tue August 28, 2007
Source: www.dragons.com.au

The St George Bank Dragons have put in a gritty performance to hold out the finals bound Eels 14-6 in front of 13,488 fans at WIN Stadium.

The Dragons scored two converted tries to the Eels one and halfback Jamie Soward also converted a penalty goal to seal victory in the 78th minute.

Coach Nathan Brown was happy with the effort of his side.

"I'm happy with how they went tonight, there is still plenty to improve but it's a step towards how we would like to play next year," Brown said. "We lost our way a bit in the second half with our young halves but our defence kept us in the game.

"We know where we are on the table I didn't have to remind the boys of anything," he added.

Captain Mark Gasnier was also pleased with how his troops went.

"As I said when I came back from injury I don't take any match for granted anymore and tonight I enjoyed it," he said.

"It would have been easy to come up with excuses tonight if we lost but I thought we went well and showed what we can do," he added.

The Dragons had a number of changes to the side that was named earlier in the week. Ricky Thorby was brought into the starting side after Jason Ryles was suspended earlier in the week. Tom Hewitt was also ruled out with Chase Stanley moving to the right wing, Mark Gasnier to centre and Rangi Chase coming off the bench to start at five-eighth.

The home side had the better of the possession for the first 15 minutes having two tries disallowed after they were both sent up to the video referee Phil Cooley. The first was after a smart offload from Wollongong University junior Ben Creagh to Corey Payne just short of the line but he was held up by the Hindmarsh brothers. The second was after an inside ball from Chase to Kiama junior Josh Morris sent him through a gap but as he reached out for the line he lost control of the ball and the Eels got possession back in the 15th minute.

With the red and whites in control of the match they continued to have the majority of the ball and were able to score their first try of the night in the 23rd minute. On the third tackle the veteran hooker Simon Woolford who was celebrating his 250th match in the top grade turned it back inside for Gasnier to slide through the gap in behind the ruck 45m out from his own line. As he came to the fullback he put the ball back into Chase who ran the remaining 30 untouched to score under the posts. Soward easily converted and the score was 6-nil.

Just three minutes later the Dragons extended their lead through Renown United junior Jason Nightingale. They earned a penalty after Adam Peek was held down just 10m out from his own line. A fantastic kick for touch by Soward gave them a start on half way and three tackles into the set they shifted the ball from right to left and an overlap was created which was spotted by Soward who chipped the ball over the top for Nightingale to take on the full and score in the south eastern corner. Soward beautifully converted the try and the lead went out to 12-nil.

The remainder of the half was played from end to end with the Dragons continuing to have the better of the field position. Eels hooker and former Dragon Mark Riddell was placed on report along with Nathan Hindmarsh for a lifting tackle on Gerringong junior Ashton Sims just prior to the half time break.

As both sides came back from oranges the defence from both sides continued to dominate along with some errors in attack that cost both teams.

It was 20 minutes into the second stanza where the Eels earned their first points of the evening. After Nightingale made a bust from a kick return he lost the ball in doing so when he was met by the defence giving the Eels the ball 40m out from the Dragons goal line. As they attacked the Dragons line it was on the third tackle where Tim Smith took the ball to the line and flicked it off his left hip to Feleti Mateo who went across to score. It was sent up to the video referee Cooley for a suspected double movement but he judged that momentum had carried him across the line. Krisnan Inu converted to close the gap to 12-6 in favour of the Dragons.

With just four minutes remaining the Dragons were 38m out from the line on the last tackle where Soward had an attempt at field goal that had the distance on it but not the line and Jarred Hayne came away with possession.

It was just two minutes later when the Dragons sealed the match. 42m out from the line PJ Marsh was penalised for holding down the player too long in the play the ball. After a lengthy discussion the players convinced Soward that he could get the job done and extend the lead out to eight points. After standing over the ball for what seemed an eternity he plotted it straight over the black dot to seal victory 14-6.

DRAGONS 14 (Chase, Nightingale Tries; Soward 3 Goals) def. EELS 6 (Mateo Try; Inu Goal)

Crowd: 13,488.

Report source: www.dragons.com.au


Woolford to make his 250th NRL appearance
Tue August 21, 2007
Source: www.dragons.com.au

Hooker Simon Woolford will this week make his 250th career appearance in the top grade when the Dragons clash with the Eels in the Monday night fixture at WIN Stadium.

Woolford, 32, made his first grade debut back in Round 11 of 1994 and represented the Raiders on 233 occasions and will play his 17th match for the Dragons this weekend.

"When I made my debut I probably didn't think I would ever play 250 matches but when I look back I'm proud of being able to play this many games in the top grade," Woolford said.

The Dragons also welcome back Beau Scott who will come straight back into the starting side after missing the match against the Cowboys due to injury and with Ben Hornby out with an ankle injury Josh Morris moves to fullback and Tom Hewitt comes into the side on the wing.

Unavailable Dragons are: Wes Naiqama (Knee), Dean Young (Knee), Brett Morris (Shoulder), Keith Lulia (Groin), Justin Poore (Shoulder) and Ben Hornby (Ankle).

1. Josh Morris, 2. Jason Nightingale, 3. Chase Stanley, 4. Matt Cooper, 5. Tom Hewitt, 6. Mark Gasnier (C), 7. Jamie Soward, 8. Dan Hunt, 9. Simon Woolford, 10. Jason Ryles, 11. Beau Scott, 12. Corey Payne, 13. Ben Creagh. Subs: 14. Adam Peek, 15. Ashton Sims, 16. Chris Houston, 17. Rangi Chase, 18. Lagi Setu, 19. Ricky Thorby.

News sent by: www.dragons.com.au

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