MATCH REPORT | St George-Illawarra Dragons 24-36 South Sydney Rabbitohs
St. George-Illawarra played South Sydney in the traditional Charity Shield trial game, with Souths winning 36-24.
MATCH DETAILS
Souths made a strong start, with two converted tries in the first five minutes. St. George-Illawarra (through a double to Tim Lafai) rebounded to lead 18-16 at halftime. Cody Walker and Cameron Murray took the game away from the Dragons early in the second half, with late consolation tries to Tariq Sims and Bayley Sironen giving the big Mudgee crowd some more entertainment. It was Souths’ 15th win in 36 Charity Shields and stretched their unbeaten run to seven games (six wins and a draw).
FOUR POINTERS
FINE DEBUT FOR ALLAN
Yet to make his first grade debut, Corey Allan made a strong case for a debut in round one against the Sydney Roosters, scoring a hat-trick. His first two tries came in the first 22 minutes and he completed a hat-trick early in the second half. In a quirk of history, Allan became the first player to represent the PMs XIII before playing first grade. He scored a try in the PMs XIII 34-18 win over PNG last October.
MUDGEE WELCOMES THE CHARITY SHIELD AGAIN
After a successful debut in 2018, Mudgee’s Glen Willow Stadium welcomed the Charity Shield back. A passionate crowd of 9,027 showed why the NRL needs to take as much football as possible to the country. The Mudgee crowd saw a great game, with 11 tries and 60 points. Country fans deserve more of this.
ILL-DISCIPLINED SOUTHS SACRIFICE GOOD START
After a big trial loss to Penrith last week, Souths made a fast start in Mudgee, with two tries in the first five minutes. Unfortunately, nine penalties against them let St. George-Illawarra come back to lead 18-16 at halftime. Wayne Bennett will want to work on Souths’ first half discipline as it could cost them when the real stuff begins.
SOUTHS EMBRACE THE RETRO
While the Dragons stuck to the traditional Red V, South Sydney’s Charity Shield jersey was a thing of beauty: a modern version of the old lace-up jersey, with dark red torso, dark green chest and a white collar. Hopefully it won’t be the last time we see it in 2019.
THE RESULT
SOUTH SYDNEY 36
Tries: Corey Allan 3, Campbell Graham, Cody Walker, Cameron Murray, Bayley Sironen
Goals: Dane Gagai 4/7
Drop Goals: N/A
ST. GEORGE-ILLAWARRA 24
Tries: Timoteo Lafai 2, Zac Lomax, Tariq Sims
Goals: Gareth Widdop 4/4
Drop Goals: N/A
SQUADS
ST. GEORGE-ILLAWARRA : 1. Gareth Widdop, 2. Jordan Pererira, 3. Euan Aitken, 4. Timoteo Lafai, 5. Zac Lomax, 6. Corey Norman, 7. Ben Hunt, 8. James Graham, 9. Cameron McInnes, 10. Paul Vaughan, 11. Jacob Host, 12. Tariq Sims, 13. Tyson Frizell. Interchange: 14. Jeremy Latimore, 15. Matthew Duffy, 16. Blake Lawrie, 17. Luciano Leilua, 18. Mikaele Ravalawa, 19. Reece Robson, 20. Lachlan Timm, 21. Josh Kerr, 22. Jai Field, 23. Korbin Sims.
SOUTH SYDNEY : 1. Alex Johnston, 2. Campbell Graham, 3. Dane Gagai, 4. Braidon Burns, 5. Corey Allan. 6. Cody Walker, 7. Connor Tracey, 8. Tevita Tatola, 9. Damien Cook. 10. Thomas Burgess, 11. John Sutton, 12. Sam Burgess, 13. Cameron Murray. Interchange: 14. Ethan Lowe, 15. Mat McIlwrick, 16. Tom Amone, 17, Rhys Kennedy, 18. Bayley Sironen, 19. Corey Denniss, 20. Kyle Turner, 21. Liam Knight, 22. Mawene Hiroti.
https://nothingbutleague.com/2019/03/02/nrl-trials-eels-scalp-panthers-in-western-derby/
