Fresh off a morale-boosting win over Canberra, the St George Illawarra Dragons are full of confidence and will fancy their chances of upsetting the Manly Sea Eagles at home. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:30pm AEDT.
Having produced a shocking performance against the Tigers in Round 2, St George Illawarra found themselves in another hole against the Raiders in Canberra.
Trailing 18-nil in the first half, the Dragons rallied superbly to post a 22-20 victory that could prove to be a season-defining performance from the Red V.
While Canberra are hardly premiership material at the moment, the Dragons were struggling for confidence after their poor performance against the Tigers and last week’s win should have gone a long way to instilling some belief.
The Sea Eagles meanwhile were gallant in their 16-12 defeat to the Bulldogs and welcome back Kieran Foran and Jamie Lyon into their starting line-up.
At their best, Manly are comfortably the better attacking outfit, so the Dragons can ill afford to start slowly yet again.
If the Dragons hope to dent Manly’s attack, stopping Daly Cherry-Evans is a must. When he plays well like he did against Melbourne in Round 2, the Sea Eagles are close to unstoppable with the football. In short, the game plan is simple for the Dragons. Stop Cherry-Evans and you stop Manly.
Attacking-wise the Dragons must avoid going sideways too early in their sets. They need to establish dominance up the middle of the park before exploiting spaces out wide. When they do go wide, they need to have players in motion and play at speed – something they failed miserably at against the Tigers.
Back at home, the Dragons should be expected to push Manly all the way in what should be a close encounter. They possess a good record against the Sea Eagles and are good value for an upset.
Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 7:30pm (AEDT). If you are following the action live be sure to share your thoughts on the match in the comments below.
steveng
Roar Rookie
Wow, how low have the Eagles and the Dragons gotten down to? A very low game that I was not going to watch but did and was so disappointed. Btw I backed the Eagles in the tipping, how wrong was I, disgusting performance.
Charles NSW
Guest
I ask the same question about Farrell! At the moment he is the weak link in the backline. McGregor is putting a lot of faith in him but he needs to get the right result if he wants to keep him in there.
Walter Penninger
Roar Guru
Well it was hardly inspiring but a win is a win. It was good to see Aitken put in another strong performance and Dugan finally return to form. Marketto put in a solid performance but I would have preferred O'Brien to Rose, and it is well beyond time that Farrell got the axe.
Muzz
Guest
Agree Ken. I thought the Dragons D shape was near perfect with players filing into position regardless of how far away the ball was.
Ken
Guest
It was smart defence too, there was great coverage of inside lines - any time Manly switched the attack or turned a man inside he was invariably smashed by an alert defender covering. I would have liked to see their possession and field position converted into more points but if they continue to defend like that they'll find themselves climbing the table.
William Dalton Davis
Roar Rookie
I need a shower after watching that game.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Was a certain knock on.
Muzz
Guest
lol
The eye
Guest
softer for willie
Charles NSW
Guest
Great to see the Dragons win! A lot of work needed especially as Manly were off tonight but it is a start in the right direction.
Alex L
Roar Rookie
Rulebook glossary definition of a knock on (as per the NRL website link to rules) is "means to knock the ball towards the opponents dead ball line with the hand or arm while playing at the ball" it makes no mention of to whom the ball goes.
Leroy Loggins
Guest
Thanks ! Can't see either of these 2 teams making the 8
E-Meter
Guest
Manly's attack resembles a busted toilet
Scott Pryde
Expert
Haha a lot of positives to take from it though.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thanks Alan.
jamesb
Guest
Wow, we have won 2 in a row! Didn't expect that. Although the game wasn't that flash.
Alan
Roar Guru
Well done to the Dragons. They out-muscled Manly tonight and defended very well when under pressure. Manly just not clicking tonight. Dragons face a stern test next week though against Newcastle and they will struggle against the Knights if they don't improve their attack. Plenty to be optimistic about though for Dragons fans. Manly fans might be set for a long year. Dragons 12 Sea Eagles 4
Scott Pryde
Expert
That sums up the game that last bit of defence. It has been really aggressive tonight and the result shows that. The dragons weren't all that good in attack but our defence meant we didn't need to be. Much needed win and some momentum going forward. Important for the Dragons to grind out the win like that.
Joel Erickson
Roar Guru
The NRL rule book classifies a knock on as a ball lost forward that hits the ground, a goal post, the crossbar, or an opponent. It wasn't a knock on. It was a forward pass. But you can't rule on that.
Alan
Roar Guru
FULLTIME Dragons 12 Sea Eagles 4