The Rabbitohs stayed on the bus and the Dragons ran riot in response, setting up a comfortable win that revives hopes of an unlikely finals appearance.
The Dragons’ best first half in 21 years set up a 32-12 win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs at WIN Stadium on Wollongong on Thursday night. That was in April 2001, the last time the Dragons put together a first-half blitz quite like this. Remember the day Trent Barrett played lock for St George Illawarra? Talatau Amone doesn’t. He wasn’t even born.
But no one can rest on their laurels, as the Parramatta Eels learnt last week. There is always the chance of an upset, and the ladder can change in a flash.
In just their fourth week under interim coach Mick Potter, Canterbury played like the Dogs of old and put on a brilliant display against the Eels for just their third win of the season. It also saw them jump off the bottom of the ladder and gave them a much-needed morale boost. Panthers are just too good, and the Warriors are a shambles. Kalyn Ponga has been named at fullback but will be monitored this week after failing a HIA when he tried to stop a rampaging Viliame Kikau last week and came off second best. The Raiders had a woeful stretch early on and seemed to only play 40 minutes of footy each week. Still sitting at the top of the ladder, they gave the Knights a 42-6 belting last week, and show no signs of slowing down. With the game to be played at Coffs Harbour, there is no home team advantage, but Cronulla have taken games there for a while now so they may have built up a bit of a fan base. The Warriors season just seems to be getting worse by the week. They Cowboys are the surprise packet of the season, sitting in third spot, and just continue to impress. The Storm has a number of stars on the sideline, but always manage to field a great side. They are currently 5th on the ladder so still well on their way to finals footy. Moeaki Fotuaika takes a spot on the bench and Esan Marsters has been told thanks but no thanks.
Lomax bounces back for red hot Dragons, Souths veterans 'lose heads' in horror show: 3 Big Hits.
Their attack is horrendous.” “No doubt they were just looking to try and halt the momentum of the Dragons and try and change something up. “Their halfback was taken off with 11 minutes to go in the first half,” Ennis said. The seventh placed Rabbitohs are hunting three wins in a row for the first time this season, while the 10th placed Dragons desperately need a win to keep in touch with the top eight. Players in the road. Passes not hitting the mark. “Zac Lomax has made up for all the errors he committed last week with a great pass for Ben Hunt’s first try then a flick pass to Ravalawa,” Alexander said. It was always going to be hard to fill the shoes of Adam Reynolds and Ilias has been solid in his first year in first grade, but he took a few steps back against the Dragons. “Incredible first half from the Dragons,” Alexander said. Lead runners missing their timing. The Dragons thrashed the Rabbitohs 32-12 in a six tries to two rout on the back of a Zac Lomax masterclass in a demolition WIN Stadium. “The Dragons are red hot,” Ennis said.
Last year's grand finalists South Sydney are blown away in the first half, as the Dragons have a big win in Wollongong, to stay in contention for the top ...
Hunt had a hand in another try when he went to the line and put Jack de Belin through some poor defence, while he also kicked for Moses Suli to set up another four-pointer. The hosts' first try set the tone for the night, when Lomax hauled in a Hunt kick and stepped his way through the defence and put his half-back over. The Rabbitohs missed 21 tackles in the first half alone, as the Dragons kept pace with the clock for the majority of the opening 40.
Both sides go into tonight's contest 1-17 as named on Tuesday. Jaiyden Hunt (SGI) and Peter Mamouzelos (SOU) are 18th players.
Jaiyden Hunt Ben Hunt 8. Moses Mbye 15. Francis Molo 16. Moses Suli 4. 1. Cody Ramsey 2.
Welcome to our live coverage of NRL's Thursday clash, where the Dragons host the Rabbitohs in Wollongong.
Those are the first points this half. They improved in the second but it was too little, too late. Phil Gould asked of the Rabbitohs.
The Dragons stunned the Rabbitohs 32-12 at WIN Stadium on Thursday night to ensure veteran hooker Andrew McCullough celebrated his 300th NRL game in grand ...
The Rabbitohs will be hoping to welcome back Latrell Mitchell for their clash with the Eels at Accor Stadium after rep round next weekend. In a first half packed with highlights for the Dragons it was the 19th minute try to Mikaele Ravalawa second try that took the gold medal for skill. "It's not on him, it's about trying to get a response for the team. In the NRL you don't ever expect to lead 32-0 at half-time but you could feel it all week the way we prepared, it was important we responded to a disappointing performance last week." Blake [Taaffe] gives us some energy and I was trying to get a response out there. "Last week was one of our worst performances of the season so it showed a lot of character to bounce back like that.
South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou has defended his “unfair” decision to bench Rabbitohs halfback Lachlan Ilias with 51 minutes remaining in Thursday ...
“It was really good to see Cooky get around him because he would be embarrassed by it. He has got good temperament. He has got great resilience. I think the team really needs to rally around him. “But he had a difficult start to tonight and he was in a side that was just floundering and I don’t know if there was an injury or he was just replaced but I think it is a really tough call on him and I really feel for him.” “It‘s a big call for the coach to hook him after 30-odd minutes, but the team certainly need to rally around him now because he will be crushed.”