Saints smash Sharks in derby

St George-Illawarra moved back into contention for a home final after accounting for Cronulla by 10 points at Oki Jubilee Stadium today.

After holding the Sharks scoreless in the first half, the Dragons held on to their lead despite some late tries by Cronulla which gained some scoreboard credibility.

To add injury to insult, Cronulla hooker Michael Sullivan was a late exclusion with a hamstring injury. Sullivan’s omission saw Kevin Kingston replace him in just his second First Grade game.

The Dragons were led to victory by a dominant display from Origin centre pairing Mark Gasnier and Matt Cooper. Gasnier helped set up two tries, while Cooper confirmed the victory by getting over the line early in the second half. Their forwards were led by New South Wales props Jason Ryles (29 tackles, 18 hit-ups) and Luke Bailey (27 and 16) as they controlled the ruck.

For Cronulla, Queensland representative Danny Nutley battled hard with 35 tackles and 13 hit-ups while Nigel Vagana attacked the line consistently and proved a handful for the St George-Illawarra defense as he broke through twice.

With the Dragons fighting to cement their place in the top 8, they were the first on the board after eight minutes with Wes Naiqama booting a penalty goal after Cronulla captain Brett Kimmorley was caught offside.

But the Sharks attempted to hit back just four minutes later. After full-back Clint Greenshields knocked on inside his own quarter, Vince Mellars crossed in the ensuing set but the try was disallowed after the video referee adjudicated that Kimmorley had run behind one of his own men which resulted in obstruction to the defense.

Following their slice of luck, Gasnier helped set up Bailey score the first try of the match after making a 60 metre break from inside his own half. After he was pulled down just short of the line, Bailey was not going to be denied from close range.

Both sides batted hard fighting for field position, but were letting themselves down with unforced errors until Gasnier sent Colin Best on his way untouched from 30 metres after he attracted three defenders and managed to off-load to the touchline side. Michael Ennis booted the goal from the sideline and the score was 14-0 at half time.

The Dragons started where they left off in the second half with Gasnier appearing to have scored his own first try in the 52nd minute but he was also disallowed for running behind his own man.

However Cooper broke the half-time deadlock after running 60 metres after getting through some soft defense from Cronulla winger David Simmons. Ennis again converted from the sideline to make the scoreline an unassailable 20-0.

In what was a disappointing day for the Sharks, it wasn’t until the 73rd minute that they got onto the scoreboard. David Peachey took advantage of a comedy of errors in which it appeared the ball had been touched by a teammate, but referee Tim Mander decided otherwise and awarded the try. Nathan Merritt converted from right in front.

The Sharks added another try in the second last minute following some quick hands from the backs which resulted in Simmons scoring out wide. Merritt missed the conversion and the final score remained 20-10.

The Dragons, full of running, will take on the under-achieving Roosters at WIN Stadium next week as they look to get a place in the top 4 while Cronulla face the red-hot Wests Tigers at home on Sunday afternoon.

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