Dragons survive late scare to notch fifth straight win
Local Sport
ON THE BOUNCE: Dragons players celebrate their fifth straight victory in Jason Nightingale's 250th game. Picture: AAP
ST GEORGE Illawarra went to 5-0 to start the season, but it was by the skin of their teeth as they outlasted South Sydney 16-12 at Jubilee Oval on Friday night.
The Dragons had won just two of their last 12 games against the Rabbitohs – including the 26-22 loss that started their slide out of the finals race in round 22 last season.
They conceded to tries in the finals five minutes to go down by two that night and coach Paul McGregor may have felt a tinge of deja vu as the Rabbitohs crossed twice in the final nine minutes on Friday.
After a dominant first half from the hosts, the flood gates looked set to open when Matt Dufty raced 60 metres to take a 14-2 lead three minutes into the second half.
However, it was all the visitors from there and when Cody Walker finally crossed with eight minutes to play the comeback was on in earnest.
Greg Inglis scored two minutes later and youngster Adam Douehi nailed the sideline conversion to put the game back on a knife edge at 16-12.
It cut a 14-point buffer to just four, but the Rabbitohs couldn’t find the go-ahead try, with Walker spilling the ball cold 20 metres out from the Dragons line.
McGregor said the win showed a new level of maturity in his side.
“We wouldn’t have won that game last year, it’s fact we didn’t win that game against Souths last year,” he said.
“We did this year which tells me that we’re going the right places. We had no possession in the opposition half in the second half and we defended our line courageously set after set.
“Souths make it ugly, the rucks always slow, it’s hard to generate anything. There were a few things tonight that went against us a little bit and we fought through it.
“We got a good try [Dufty’s] after halftime, we forced an error and scored that try to jump out to 14-2 and then we just had no field position for the whole second half.
“It was very quick around the try-line but we still found a way to get in the right spaces time after time. To come away with a win is outstanding.”
The Dragons had only one try to show for their 70 per cent possession at halftime, though it was luckless opening stanza for Nene Macdonald.
The Queenslad Origin aspirant got across three times in the first half only to be twice denied by the video referee and a third time by a millimetre of sideline chalk.
Replays showed Macdonald was clearly held up in the 13th minute, but his second denial from video official Steve Chiddy in the 32nd minute raised the ire of the Kogarah faithful.
Macdonald finished off a sweeping back line movement and ran the ball under the posts, with on-field ref Gavin Badger sending it upstairs as a try.
Chiddy looked at several replays before ruling that Tariq Sims had obstructed Rabbitohs half Adam Reynolds, who Macdonald brushed off en route to the line.
McGregor said he was left baffled by the decision.
“I’m as confused as you are,” McGregor said.
“The two defender [Reynolds] jammed. When the two defender jams, he’s made a decision.
“He came out of the line and he made a decision and he didn’t make the tackle. That’s all I’ll say.”
It was a let-off the Rabbitohs dearly needed and Anthony Seibold’s men could consider themselves fortunate to trail by jut six at the break.
It ensured veteran winger Jason Nightingale marked his 250th game for the club with a win, and continued a personal love affair with the Rabbitohs, at least as far as milestone games go.
The Dragons’ previous two wins over Souths came in his 150th and 200th games respectively – but a 5-0 start to a season was still a first for the 31-year-old now in his 11th NRL season.
It’s also a first for the club, and poses the question of just how far they can stretch it as they look to next Friday’s clash with arch-rivals Cronulla in Wollongong.
Gareth Widdop opened the scoring with a penalty goal before a minute had passed after the Rabbitohs failed to complete the opening set of the match.
Macdonald was denied the first four-pointer twice in the space of 30 seconds when he was held up over the line and forced into touch on consecutive touches with the line beckoning.
Euan Aitken eventually posted the first try when he blew past Greg Inglis to cross in the right-hand corner.
Widdop’s attempted conversion was waved away, keeping the score at 6-0 with 20 minutes to play before the break.
Macdonald was denied again when he crossed in the 32nd minute only for video referee Steve Chiddy to find an obstruction by Tariq Sims in the lead-up.
Having spent precious little time in Dragons territory throughout the opening stanza, Reynolds pegged the margin back to six with penalty moments before the halftime siren.
It proved only a band-aid with Hunt scooping up an errant pass from John Sutton and finding a runaway Matt Dufty who dashed 60 metres to score just three minutes after the resumption.
With the score at 14-2, the Rabbitohs continued to to press hard with Damien Cook and Robert Jennings going close to scoring, only for Nightingale to come from the clouds to make try-saving tackles on both occasions.
Widdop steadied the ship moments later with his third penalty goal to push the lead out to 16-2 in the 52nd minute.
Tries to Walker and Inglis set up the grand-stand finish down the stretch but the Dragons were good enough to hold on.
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Gregg Porteous/NRL Photos
