Round 2 vs Souths

[getsmarty]

Souths prove too strong for Dragons
Author
Brad Walter NRL.com Senior Reporter
Timestamp
Thu 21 Mar 2019, 10:24 PM

Sam Burgess may have his kicking licence revoked but South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett is likely to give him free rein to do anything else after the English forward sparked a second-half revival to down St George Illawarra at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.

Burgess scored two tries and laid on another one for five-eighth Cody Walker to lead Souths to a 34-18 win after a lacklustre first half in which the Dragons were the ones with more enthusiasm and energy.

An attempted kick in which he failed to make contact with the ball was Burgess' only notable blemish in a man-of-the-match performance that prompted commentators to declare him the best forward of the last decade.

Burgess' feats were even more important given that captain and right centre Greg Inglis was hampered by a right shoulder injury and the Rabbitohs lost former skipper John Sutton in the first half.


Match: Dragons v Rabbitohs

Round 2 - Thursday 21st March


Full Time

Home Team

Dragons

Scored 18 points

Away Team

Rabbitohs

Scored 34 points
Venue: Netstrata Jubilee Stadium

Match broadcasters:

• Nine Network
• Fox League
• LIVE PASS

The Dragons showed their intent in the opening minutes when Tariq Sims burst through the defence and looked set to score but lost the ball reaching out to plant it on the try line.

Instead it was the Rabbitohs, who went out to an early lead after NSW Origin hooker Damien Cook raced out of dummy half and sent Cameron Murray racing past rookie Dragons lock Blake Lawrie and into open space before dummying his way around fullback Gareth Widdop to score.

However, the Dragons were the more dominant team in the first half leading 12-6 at the break.

Jordan Pereira helped level the scores in the ninth minute after Widdop stepped across the face of the Souths defensive line before finding centre Tim Lafai, who put his winger over with a clever flick pass.

Rabbitohs hooker Damien Cook. Robb Cox/NRL Photos
Widdop converted from the sideline and St George Illawarra continued to mount pressure on the Rabbitohs through the involvement of Widdop as a third playmaker and offloading by their forwards in the middle.

Eventually the weight of possession in good field position paid off when five-eighth Corey Norman threw a 20-metre cut out pass for an unmarked Pereira to grab his second try in the 20th minute.

A penalty against interchange prop Liam Knight for an apparent chicken wing on James Graham enabled Widdop to extend St George Illawarra’s lead to 12-6 in the 28th minute. Perhaps even worse for Souths fans in the 10,080 crowd at that particular point in time was the sight of John Sutton heading for the dressing room.

Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett had used all four of his bench players compared in the first half, to just one by Paul McGregor wan indication of the toll that the expansive Dragons attacking game was taking on their bigger opponents.



Burgess double guides Rabbitohs to victory

If it looked like the break couldn't come quick enough for Souths, the way they started the second half confirmed it as they returned a rejuvenated side and quickly gained the lead and control of the match.

Sam Burgess helped level the scores at 12-12 in the 44th minute when he burst through the defence to score and he then laid on a try for five-eighth Cody Walker four minutes later as the Rabbitohs shifted up a gear.

Pereira had the chance to score a third try in the 52nd minute but he was unable to take a Lafai pass and Souths scored again on the ensuing set of tackles through centre Braidon Burns.

The Rabbitohs continued to target St George Illawarra’s right edge and were again rewarded when winger Campbell Graham scored in the 62nd minute after fullback Alex Johnston swivelled out of the tackle of Fijian rookie Mikaele Ravalawa, although Cook's pass to Walker looked forward.

Burgess sealed the win when he crashed over in the 70th minute to score his second try of the match before Lafai grabbed a consolation try four minutes later for the home side.



https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2019/03/21/souths-too-strong-for-dragons/

P.S 28 - 6 in the 2nd half...well done Coach......

 

[jeffdragon]

I was there Sims no try then they scored.
Leading at ht we have them heaps of ball late in the first .
Told south fans on hill they will come over the top in the 2,nd they said no I said I know my team .I was right .
We had only realistically a 4 day turnaround compared to their 7.
How does that work ?
I'd that fair?
Then two away games v bris and knights.
Disgraceful.
Capitulated in the 2nd half were we never had the ball .
No desperation from widdop or Ravalawa.especially for Burns try.
Should never have been scored.
Sutton put whistle to mouth on forward pass but blew nothing.
Looks like we will be one of the teams from last year to drop out of the 8.
We are missing Jdb.

 

[getsmarty]

Slick South Sydney second half helps Rabbitohs rout sorry St George Illawarra Dragons 34-18 at Kogarag

• Local Sport
  
  
  
  Unstoppable: Braidon Burns celebrates his try for South Sydney against the Dragons on Thursday night. Picture: Dan Himbrechts/AAP Image
  Four tries in 20 minutes after half-time has seen South Sydney rout St George Illawarra 34-18 at Kogarah on Thursday night.
  
  The Dragons have now lost both their opening two fixtures to start the 2019 season.
  
  St George Illawarra were always going to be up against it given the short five-day turnaround from their arduous slog in wet conditions against the Cowboys in Townsville in round one.
  
  Already without Jack de Belin, the Dragons were also without star representative forward Tyson Frizell through injury, allowing Blake Lawrie to start at lock and Josh Kerr to make his NRL debut from the bench.
  
  More than 10,000 fans turned up to Netstrata Jubilee Stadium for St George Illawarra's first of five clashes at Kogarah this season.
  
  Damien Cook bursts out of dummy half and sets up a surging Cameron Murray!#TelstraPremiership#NRLDragonsSouthspic.twitter.com/RNjgIIurLD
  
  — NRL (@NRL) March 21, 2019
  But the Dragons will need to regroup quickly as the 16-point loss to the Rabbitohs was their only home game in the first month of the season - with tricky trips to Brisbane and Newcastle on the horizon.
  
  St George Illawarra's right side defence was torn to shreds in the second half as the Dragons gave up all the aggression and commitment that saw them leave the ground to a standing ovation at half-time.
  
  It looked like it was going to be one of those nights for St George Illawarra when Tariq Sims produced a powerful run through the middle of the ruck only to drop the ball while stretching out to ground it after only three minutes.
  
  It was only three minutes later that Souths made them pay. Damien Cook waltzed across field before finding young lock Cameron Murray on a straight run.
  
  What a reply!
  
  The @NRL_Dragons hit straight back through Jordan Pereira in the corner. #TelstraPremiership#NRLDragonsSouthspic.twitter.com/w6TaFZPOjM
  
  — NRL (@NRL) March 21, 2019
  Murray went almost untouched between Lawrie and Sims on the halfway line before beating Gareth Widdop with a dummy to race through and score under the posts.
  
  But the Dragons didn't allow the early slip to hit their confidence and were level after 10 minutes.
  
  On the back of a Sam Burgess error, Widdop danced across field before finding Tim Lafai. The centre produced a powerful left foot step past Greg Inglis before his flick pass hit Jordan Pereira who scored out wide.
  
  The Dragons took the lead midway through the half through Pereira who claimed his first NRL double.
  
  Stunning pass from Norman.
  
  Jordan Pereira crosses over for a double! #TelstraPremiership#NRLDragonsSouthspic.twitter.com/n89IK8xzUQ
  
  — NRL (@NRL) March 21, 2019
  Corey Norman threw a sublime, instinctive double cut out pass to Pereira, who picked the ball up almost off his boot laces. He then produced a strong fend on Dane Gagai to slide over in the corner.
  
  A Widdop penalty goal on the half hour mark extended St George Illawarra's lead to 12-6 after James Graham's shoulder had been placed in an awkward position.
  
  Debutant Kerr made an inauspicious start to his NRL career off the bench, twice gifting Souths field position. Firstly, he was penalised for a late hit on Adam Reynolds after the Souths halfback had kicked the ball. And secondly, the forward dropped the ball as the Dragons worked it away from their own line.
  
  St George Illawarra showed excellent resilience on their own line to turn the Rabbitohs away to take their six-point lead to half-time.
  
  But as good as they were in the first half, the Dragons were equally as poor to start the second as they leaked four tries in 20 minutes to turn a 12-6 advantage into a 28-12 deficit.
  
  The @SSFCRABBITOHS have started the second half on #TelstraPremiership#NRLDragonsSouthspic.twitter.com/RcwXLQ6OWn
  
  — NRL (@NRL) March 21, 2019
  Sam Burgess had Souths level two minutes into the second half when he stretched out to score next to the posts.
  
  Five minutes later the Rabbitohs were in front as Ben Hunt allowed Cody Walker to race through and score after an over-read in defence.
  
  Braidon Burns extended the advantage when he somehow got on the end of a Reynolds attacking kick before Campbell Graham slid over out wide on the hour mark.
  
  Sam Burgess scored his seventh career double with nine minutes to play to end any thoughts of an unlikely Dragons comeback before Lafai scored a late consolation.
  
  Leader Scoreboard
  
  South Sydney Rabbitohs 34 (Sam Burgess two, Cameron Murray, Cody Walker, Braidon Burns, Campbell Graham tries. Adam Reynolds five goals)
  
  defeated
  
  St George Illawarra Dragons 18 (Jordan Pereira two, Tim Lafai tries. Gareth Widdop three goals)
  
  at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
  
  Crowd: 10,080
  
  Leader man of the match: Adam Reynolds (Rabbitohs)
  
  Dragons' next three: Broncos (away), Knights (away), Bulldogs (home - Kogarah)
  
  
  
  https://www.theleader.com.au/story/...-half-routs-sorry-dragons-at-kogarah/?cs=1633

 

[rednwhites]

I think the most demoralising part of it all was that was our home game and fans were streaming out with over 20 minutes to go. Having two great players missing is no reason to capitulate. I will be surprised if we are not dead last after Round 4 if not sooner with our draw and our current team playing the way they are under the super coach. And yet, there's something strangely cathartic about the thought of it all.

 

[getsmarty]

St George Illawarra outmatched by classy Rabbitohs

• Cameron Mee

Local Sport
+22

• 
• 

Round 2 NRL match between the Dragons and Rabbitohs at Jubilee Stadium. Photos: AAP
St George Illawarra's nightmare start to the NRL season has continued, with the Dragons falling to South Sydney at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on Thursday night.

The home side controlled much of the first half, leading 12-6 at the break, however they ran out of puff in the second 40, with the Rabbitohs blasting their opponents off the park during a stunning opening 20 minutes of the second half.

The Rabbitohs scored four tries in 18 minutes to blow the game wide open before closing out the match in the final 20 to secure a 34-18 victory, a late Tim Lafai try narrowing the margin.

Outmuscled: Paul Vaughan. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts.

The blitzkrieg began in the 43rd minute when Sam Burgess crossed for the first of his two tries to level the scores and the Dragons never recovered, with Cody Walker crossing four minutes later, before Braidon Burns and Campbell Graham added to the tally.

Read more: Frizell on the mend after painful injury

The second half dominance was built on the back of a pin-point kicking game by the Souths halves, with Adam Reynolds and Walker ensuring the Rabbitohs won the territorial battle.

The South Sydney forward pack also gained the upper-hand throughout the second half, with the Rabbitohs recovering from a poor first half to dominate their rivals.

The Dragons will be disappointed, however, with their second-half performance, with the forwards well and truly outplayed and the halves shut down after a promising first half.

South Sydney's dominance throughout the second half was in stark contrast to the first 40, a period which the Dragons largely dominated.

Read more: Paul McGregor confident Dragons will bounce back

St George Illawarra had the first of the scoring opportunities in just the third minute, with Tariq Sims bursting through the Souths defensive line to charge towards the line, only to spill the ball over the paint.

The effort was a sign of things to come throughout the first half, with the Dragons enjoying the better of the field possession throughout much of the half.

It was South Sydney, however, who would open the scoring in the fifth minute through lock Cameron Murray. After Damien Cook ran from dummy half, Murray burst through Blake Lawrie's attempt at tackle to find open space before beating Widdop to finish off a 50-metre effort.

The Dragons hit back almost immediately, however, with Jordan Pereira the beneficiary of a brilliant Lafai offload to cross in the corner.

Pereira would extend St George Illawarra's lead 19 minutes into the half, this time latching onto a looping Corey Norman cutout pass before beating his opposite Dane Gagai on the outside to cross on almost the exact same patch of grass.

The first-half scoring would finish 10 minutes later, with Widdop converting a period of St George Illawarra dominance into two points after Liam Knight was put on report for a chicken-wing tackle on James Graham.

While that would mark the end of the scoring, it was not the end of the action, with South Sydney sending wave after wave of attack at the Dragons throughout the final five minutes of the half.

The St George Illawarra defense held firm, to ensure the home side went into the sheds holding a 12-6 lead.

That final five minutes of the first half would prove a sign of things to come, with the Rabbitohs maintaining their dominance after the break and running away with the match.


https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/5968283/dragons-outmatched-by-classy-rabbitohs/?cs=302

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

Great first half. Looked lost in the second.

Off the back of some tough calls we didn't show resilience to overcome them. And ran out of petrol. Souths were very good.

But I'm not as worried as others might be..

We had a 5 day turnaround, from humid north qld to kogarah, only one training session before the game, after the first round of the year... This - against a side with an extra days prep, no travel, who beat the premiers. In this sense I thought we'd always struggle against the Rabbitohs - with or without Frizell.

Excuse? No - just a factor.

I'm not a fan of the shifting of the spine. Yet. Widdop is clearly best at 5/8 and has arguably been the best number 6 at the start of the last two seasons. We've got Norman in anticipation of next season without Widdop and trying to accommodate 5 into 4 looked disjointed.

I'll wait until next weeks' match against the Broncos before I get too worried. And I hope they turn it around so I dont have to be..

At least we've bucked the trend of the last few years!

 

[Objective View]

Wayne Bennett by 12.

Straight Shooter

Another close pick.

Straight Shooter

 

[getsmarty]

Six missed tackles, four errors and two completed sets: how Red V threw it away in 20 minutes
Dragons

• March 21, 2019 10:55pm
• by George Clarke
• Source: FOX SPORTS

James Graham looks on in dismay as the Dragons threw it awaySource: Getty Images
In the space of 20 minutes, St George Illawarra capitulated.

Leading 12-6 at halftime, the Dragons were weathering the onslaught from the Rabbitohs.

But then, after the interval they surrendered, and the Bunnies smelt blood.


Round 2
After completing their first set of the second half the Dragons kicked to Souths.

From that point in the 41st minute, they would only complete two more sets in the next 20 minutes.

In that time, their opponents would score four crucial tries.



But ultimately, this capitulation was the Dragons’ doing.

The Red V had four sets in total, but would only compete two of them.

The Rabbitohs by contrast, were calm and commanding with the ball as they turned in a 92% completion rate (11/12).

Sims blows golden chance

0:44
What made it worse, was the error count.

On a sticky night in Kogarah, the Dragons fluffed their lines four times in that 20-minute spell.

For every error they made, Souths scored a try.

First Burgess in the 43rd minute, before Cody Walker (46), Braidon Burns (56) and Campbell Graham (61).


They missed six tackles too, but that was in among 94 other collisions.

No wonder the Bunnies were able to bust through.

They were leading 12-6 at halftime, but by the time the 61st minute came around, they had conceded 22 points.

By then, the game had gone.


https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...s/news-story/94c5ea560b2649fd43db0741b9ea7957

 

[getsmarty]

Calls for Zac Lomax to return after Souths shred Dragons’ right edge
Dragons

• March 21, 2019 10:42pm
• by Staff writers
• Source: FOX SPORTS

Zac Lomax can’t get a run in NRL.Source: Getty Images
St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor made the shock call to overlook young gun Zac Lomax in the opening two rounds, but calls for the centre to return are growing stronger after their latest loss.

The Dragons took a surprising 12-6 lead into halftime against South Sydney on Thursday night after a gutsy opening 40 minutes without key forward Tyson Frizell, Jack de Belin and Korbin Sims.

Big bad Sam turns the tide



https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...e/news-story/ecfa45a88fbde243218486a89cfde123

 

[Abbzy_89]

Next weeks line up should be : 1. Dufty, 2. Pereira, 3. Lomax, 4. Norman, 5. Lafai, 6. Widdop, 7. Hunt, 8. Graham, 9. McInnes, 10. Vaughan, 11. Host, 12. T.Sims, 13. K.Sims, 14. Lawrie, 15. Kerr , 16. Leilua, 17. Aitken ( can play second row)

 

[getsmarty]

Next weeks line up should be : 1. Dufty, 2. Pereira, 3. Lomax, 4. Norman, 5. Lafai, 6. Widdop, 7. Hunt, 8. Graham, 9. McInnes, 10. Vaughan, 11. Host, 12. T.Sims, 13. K.Sims, 14. Lawrie, 15. Kerr , 16. Leilua, 17. Aitken ( can play second row)

Whats the bet there will be minimal changes...Korbin for Kerr.. that will be it.......

 

[Old Timer]

We need a strong first grade experienced signing now to replace De Belin, no idea who but apart from that what other options do they have, Leilua isn't getting any better, Kerr may get better but who else?

The issue re JDB is unfortunate but has to be dealt with.
I agree we should look at a high quality replacement if 1 is available but that may not necessarily be the case.
So in picking the forwards what do we know?
Well to begin with we need 10 (IMO no backs on the bench)
Vaughan is a starter (so need 9)
Mc Innes is a starter but needs a replacement so Robson gets a bench spot (so need 7)
Lawrie would be a starting prop for mine and that would put Graham on the bench and coming on at the time we are most vulnerable (so need 5)
Host & T Sims both starters (so need 3)
K Sims & Kerr as bench forwards (so need 1)
Now back to the lock position until Frizz comes back.
IMO Luc & Latimore are not the future so for mine time to blood Ford and see what he's got. I think he is 21 now and has had good form in lower grades so let's not make him the next Robson or Lomax because there will be other young forwards coming after him as well that need to be looked at in 2 or 3 years from now.
If he is on development contract and we cant get a senior high quality forward to replace JDB then best upgrade Ford's contract.

 

[KogarahWarrior]

Someone email this to Mary ;

1. Dufty
2. Ravalawa
3. Norman
4. Lafai
5. Periera
6. Widdop
7. Hunt

8. Graham
9. McInnes
10. Vaughan
11. Host
12. Sims
13. Lawrie

14. Aitken
15. Latimore
16. K Sims
17. Leilua - one more chance.

if he can read lol

 

[Alec’s-saints]

Great first half. Looked lost in the second.

Off the back of some tough calls we didn't show resilience to overcome them. And ran out of petrol. Souths were very good.

But I'm not as worried as others might be..

We had a 5 day turnaround, from humid north qld to kogarah, only one training session before the game, after the first round of the year... This - against a side with an extra days prep, no travel, who beat the premiers. In this sense I thought we'd always struggle against the Rabbitohs - with or without Frizell.

Excuse? No - just a factor.

I'm not a fan of the shifting of the spine. Yet. Widdop is clearly best at 5/8 and has arguably been the best number 6 at the start of the last two seasons. We've got Norman in anticipation of next season without Widdop and trying to accommodate 5 into 4 looked disjointed.

I'll wait until next weeks' match against the Broncos before I get too worried. And I hope they turn it around so I dont have to be..

At least we've bucked the trend of the last few years!

Excuses we will not make the 8

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

Excuses we will not make the 8

Think I clearly stated it’s not an excuse.

 

[getsmarty]

Dragons press conference

https://www.foxsports.com.au/video/league/nrl/press-conferences/dragons-press-conference!723085

 

[Dragonslayer]

Our 2 biggest problems lie far deeper than our halves combo, fullback and even wingers, it's pretty evident to me that:

1. Once we benched our starting forwards, our intensity completely died off. The replacements of Latimore and Kerr were not, or could not, sustain the intensity created by our opening pack. Vaughan, Graham, Lawrie, Host, Sims and even McInnes were completely on top of their forwards. We made good metres and created opportunities from fast play the balls and had then bewildered. Once the swap happened we lost momentum, drive and the ability to maintain the Rabbits forwards.
With K.Sims coming in next week, this will hopefully assist and although Lawrie tried hard, I think K.Sims will provide more mongrel. Vaughan and Graham as starting props, K.Sims at lock, Host and T.Sims as the edge forwards and McInnes at hooker. Lawrie and I am willing to give Kerr another shot as the bench prop forwards.

2. Again McGregor bewilders us with his bench rotation and player swap. Having Dufty on the bench achieves nothing, in fact teams are and will be prepared for it. Leilua needs to go back to CC, he needs to work on his hunger to be a first grader again. The other point here was, and i'm sure it happened, when Dufty came on the moved Widdop to where? Centre, Edge or 5/8, I couldn't work it out.

Changes have to be made for next week:
1. Dufty
2. Periera
3. Lomax
4. Lafai
5. Pearson
6. Widdop
7. Hunt
8. Graham
9. McInnes
10. Vaughan
11. Host
12. T. Sims
13. K. Sims

14. Lawrie
15. Kerr
16. Norman
17. Robson

 

[Life's Good]

I thought the first half gave us hope but we still had those patches where the more possession we had the less likely we looked to score. We aren’t overcoached because our structure doesn’t clearly show who’s in charge(although Hunt looked on song early in the game).
The 2nd half was classic Dragons footy. Why Dufty wasn’t given a shot to tear it up vs. Gagai & Inglis is beyond me(by the time he came on the game was done).
Having said that we scored 18 points but our defence was atrocious- Charity Shield quality & simply not good enough.

 

[Brutalitops]

Do you think there's a single member of our spine (Widdop, Dufty, Norman, Hunt, McInnes) who is happy with the current makeup, and shifting, of the spine right now?

This is not going to get better, you can't just shift the spine every single match. Players will never feel the position is their own or feel stable

 

[blacksafake]

Whats the bet there will be minimal changes...Korbin for Kerr.. that will be it.......

I think Graham could be in doubt .
I’d expect Korbin to come off the bench due to his lack of match practice