They hung on for their 2nd win of the season against a Raiders side that didn't look on their game. The Dragons deserved to win after some strong running from their pack & a very solid kicking game. The Raiders made quite a few errors in good field position & then eased the pressure by conceding penalties.
Dufty scored a 90m try, but at times was too casual in moving to the ball ( was tackled in-goal once after not attacking the ball ). He threw a smart pass for Taufu to score join the corner & looked safe under the high ball ( without much competition ). His speed & evasive skills are unquestioned, but his size worries me if he is to succeed in the NRL. I know he has another year in the Under 20's, so hopefully he can add some bulk & strength without sacrificing too much speed.
Leilua scored 2 tries from powerful runs & came up with some strong defence, but he needs to get involved more & definitely work on his fitness ( he also has another year in Under 20's ). Hutchison was a bit scratchy in general play, but his kicking was very impressive ( apart from one shocker that went out on the full ). He showed his experience with clever kicks to space that forced the Raiders to start their sets from their own 20 most of the time.
The others to impress me were Sele, Tate, Freebairn, Host & Attalah. The backs looked a bit clunky in attack, with a classic example a scrum late in the game when Clune was standing 30m away talking to others & Hutchison was looking for support. In the first half they looked to lack confidence ( as you'd expect from a team in 16th ), but that developed as they added points.
After last year I though Izaac Thompson would dominate in the Under 20's but he was hardly sighted. About half of the squad are in their last year in this comp, so the rest of the season will shape their careers as they hope to progress to the next level.
