The Dragons ran away with the win after a big second half at WIN Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Result
St. George Illawarra Dragons 38
Tries: (7) Jacob Liddle 18th; Zac Lomax 20th, 41st; Blake Lawrie 26th; Ben Hunt 53rd; Mikaele Ravalawa 62nd, 68th; Tyrell Sloan 75th
Goals: (5) Zac Lomax 29th, 27th, 55th, 63rd, 76th
The Dolphins 12
Tries: (2) Jamayne Isaako 13th; Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 71st
Goals: (1) Jamayne Isaako 14th, 38th
Report
The first 15 minutes were looking like a solid contest between the Dragons and the Dolphins. Points had yet to be scored by either side, but the contest was definitely warming up.
Unfortunately for the Dolphins, they lost Anthony Milford to a hamstring injury very early in the match. Despite this, they were looking healthy and ready for a contest. Time would tell how much the loss would impact them.
Jamayne Isaako scored the first points of the afternoon, putting the Dolphins on the board.
The Dragons quickly hit back and took the lead with two consecutive tries; one from Jacob Liddle and one from Blake Lawrie.
The Dolphins were needing to get some momentum back, and a perfectly timed penalty provided them with an opportunity. They were awarded two Six Again sets just inside the 10. A try was almost scored, but the touch judge called it back. Luckily for the Dolphins, there was a high tackle from the Dragons, which allowed for another try opportunity for the Dolphins.
A handling error from the Dolphins allowed the Dragons to finally regain possession after defending consecutive sets on their line.
The Dragons definitely looked more on top in the remaining 10 minutes of the first half. The Dolphins scored the last points of the first half, Isaako kicking a penalty goal, narrowing the margin to just four points going into the break.
The second half was all the Dragons. Lomax scored off a kick early in the second half to maintain the momentum they had carried over from the first half.
Ben Hunt scored the next points for the Dragons, creating a bigger gap for the Dolphins to chase.
The Dragons continued to dominate the second half, while the Dolphins began to look tired, and evidently struggling without Milford.
Mikaele Ravalawa scored two consecutive tries, providing more points to the Dragons, leaving no room for the Dolphins to catch up.
The Dolphins scored one last try in the final 10 minutes (to Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow), but it wasn’t enough after the efforts of the Dragons for the entirety of the second half.
The Dragons claimed their second win of the year after a big effort for the entire 80 minutes.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR POINTS
3 – Zac Lomax (Dragons)
2 – Ben Hunt (Dragons)
1 – Mikaele Ravalawa (Dragons)
