Dragons survive late scare to upset Rabbitohs
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The Dragons survived a late surge from the understrength Rabbitohs to come away with a 36-30 victory at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on Saturday.
In front of a packed house at Kogarah the Dragons made light of their 16th position on the ladder to rack up just their fourth win of the season but three tries in three minutes to Souths late in the match ensured a nervous finish for the faithful.
Despite missing four of their superstars in Latrell Mitchell, Cody Walker, Jai Arrow and Cameron Murray, the Rabbitohs grabbed the early advantage when Richie Kennar took the final pass from Campbell Graham to cross in the ninth minute.
Seven minutes later the Dragons brought the home crowd to its feet when skipper Ben Hunt finished off a superb team try started by Jayden Sullivan and featuring slick hands from Mathew Feagai.
The Dragons then made it a double strike when Mikaele Ravalawa crossed for his ninth try of the season to make it 10-4 to the Red V.
Kennar opens the scoring
A mistake by Tyrell Sloan handed the Rabbitohs field position but good scramble defence denied Kennar and the danger was averted.
The Dragons extended the lead to 12-4 in the 33rd minute when Lomax slotted a penalty goal after Daniel Suluka-Fifita was pinged for interference in the ruck.
With three minutes remaining in the half the Rabbitohs struck back when the Dragons allowed Isaiah Tass a free catch of a Dean Hawkins bomb and the centre tapped back to Kaeon Koloamatangi who scored.
Leading 12-8 at the break the Dragons came up with an error in the opening set of the second half but Souths were unable to capitalise.
Souths comeback is on
A try to hooker Jacob Liddle out of dummy half in the 51st minute took the Dragons out to an 18-8 lead before a monster run by skipper Damien Cook two minutes later put Souths on the front foot and Tass crossed for his second try to bring it back to 18-14.
An escort penalty against Tass then proved costly for the Rabbitohs as Hunt put Jaydn Su'A into a hole and the edge forward surged over to make it 22-14. Lomax converted to give the Dragons a 10-point lead with 18 minutes to play.
The Dragons went further ahead when Michael Molo plunged over from close range for just the second try of his career and Lomax converted for 30-14.
A brilliant raid down the right side ignited by Hunt and Sloan then put Jaiyden Hunt in the clear for his first career try to make it 36-14 before the Bunnies grabbed three quickfire tries through Jacob Host, Lachlan Ilias and Campbell Graham in the 77th, 78th and 79th minute.
The Rabbitohs then had one last shot at a miracle finish but a mistake by Siliva Havili meant the home side hung on for a 36-30 win.
Match: Dragons v Rabbitohs
Round 15 -
home Team
Dragons
16th Position
away Team
Rabbitohs
3rd Position
Venue: Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Sydney
Match Snapshot
- Rabbitohs winger Richie Kennar has scored 13 tries in his 12 NRL games.
- Dragons prop Blake Lawrie was thrown into the game in the 16th minute in his return from a hand injury.
- Rabbitohs forward Michael Chee Kam was placed on report in the 27th minute for a lifting tackle on Blake Lawrie.
- Rabbitohs forward Siiva Havili entered the game in the 28th minute for his first appearance of the season having recovered from an ankle injury.
- Dragons halfback Ben Hunt has scored six tries in his past seven games at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.
Ben Hunt try puts Dragons in front
- Dragons fullback Tyrell Sloan ran for 163 metres and had five tackle breaks and a try assist.
- Keaon Koloamatangi was strong for the Bunnies with 11 runs for 103 metres and three tackle breaks.
- After beating Souths 32-12 in Wollongong in Round 15 last year the Dragons made it consecutive wins against the Rabbitohs for the first time since 2011.
- Jaydn Su'A was a powerhouse for the Dragons with 146 running metres and a try.
- The crowd of 17,357 was the biggest at Kogarah since 2018.
Cook makes a big bust
Play of the Game
With the Dragons ahead by four and the second half developing into an arm wrestle, hooker Jacob Liddle exploded out of dummy half from close range to give the Red V a very handy lead. The try was the 15th of Liddle's career and showcased his speed and determination as he got through a couple of defenders and slammed the ball down to give the last-placed Dragons the momentum.
Liddle sneaks out of dummy half
What they Said
"It was a bit stressful at the end there but I think the positives clearly outweighed the negatives for us tonight. I just spoke to the boys about enjoying winning. They worked really hard this week, we played a really good opposition, and we've just to keep building on it, keep getting better and better every week. We played a really good style of footy. We know what we are trying to chase every week and for 99 per cent of the game the boys kept chasing that." - Dragons interim coach Ryan Carr
Dragons: Round 15
"Our discipline and ball control in that middle part of the second half just put us under the pump too much and we didn't defend our tryline. At the end of the day we let two or three soft tries in and that's where we have to get better. We weren't letting them in but we are at the moment. We've got a defensive process that we know and we're just not living it at the moment. We've just got to have that motivation to defend our tryline a bit more than we've had the last couple of weeks. It's in there, I'm not worried about it. It will be back I'm sure but the bye has come at a good time." - Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou
What's Next
The Dragons are one of seven teams with a bye in Round 16. In Round 17 they host the Warriors at WIN Stadium two days after Origin II.
The Rabbitohs also have a bye next week before a clash with the Cowboys at Accor Stadium in Round 17.
