- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
What a start to the 2018 NRL season by St George Illawarra, with two contrasting victories.
They opened the season with a dominant win over the Broncos and then followed up with a bizarre triumph over the Sharks, a game that had a bit of everything.
The Saints trailed 14-4 at the break and overcame a Jason Nightingale sin-binning to storm home and take the points. So what has me, a diehard Dragons fan, excited?
The clinical way in which we opened the season, for one.
After a scrappy opening 20 minutes, it was all St George Illawarra, with Ben Hunt justifying his pay packet by steering the side around with aplomb and taking an intercept and racing away to score a decisive try before kicking the ball into Carlton South Public School – of which one Peter Doust is a former student.
Game 2 was against Cronulla, who are so easy to despise from their lack of success, to then claiming to be the big brother of southern Sydney after one premiership, to the way their fans wiggle their fingers in the air when one of their own is taking a shot at goal.
What’s that all about?
The Sharks dominated the opening half, but only led 14-4 and I was pretty happy with that scoreline, thanks to some Nene Macdonald magic. He can play, Macdonald, but just needs to find the try line a bit more often.
The second half was a gutsy affair with the Bermuda Triangle getting a fair wrap due to the on-field events.
Nightingale was sin-binned for holding down Josh Dugan, who milked a penalty better than Jamie Soward versus Bulldogs circa 2009. Despite being 13 on 12, the game resembled a halftime scrap between two junior clubs running around.
The Sharks bumbled through ten of their worst ever minutes of football and while the Dragons weren’t much better, they managed to kick two penalty goals while ‘Gypsy’ was cooling his heels.
On the back of two Ben Hunt kicks that travelled a combined one metre at most, Tyson Frizell grabbed his second of the season, and the Saints came marching in to remain on top of the ladder.
Am I happy at that? You bet I am.
In Hunt we have a genuine halfback, not a Trent Barrett switched to 7 to accommodate Anthony Mundine, or a Ben Hornby who was just filling in, or a Benji Marshall who still thinks he’s 20, but an actual halfback.
(AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
It’s a good feeling. Cameron McInnes is a gun at hooker, Gareth Widdop continues to excel at six and Matthew Dufty has raw speed, but needs to learn to pass.
It will come to him. He also needs to shave, that ugly rug on his chin isn’t pretty.
Euan Aitken, the boy from Pambula, is a welcome return in the centres, and James Graham is solid and experienced – just what we bought him for.
I know it’s only Round 2, and premierships aren’t won in March unless you’re Souths fans, but I’m enjoying this bright start to the year, as all Red V fans should.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.