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.
Adam
Guest
I never expected that, you seem to be making some unusual judgements. I never said the Dragons were hot, but they've started well and I'm enjoying it.
Ben
Roar Guru
With the addition of Ben Hunt at half, and some heavy forward experience in James Graham, I can't see the Dragons fizzling out like they did last year. They're going to be hard to beat. I'll call it now too. Ben Hunt to be a dark horse for the Dally M.
1st&10
Guest
You do not win premierships in March April, but you can lose one
DP Schaefer
Guest
Walter, I think you'll see a distinct difference between 2017 and 2018 regarding the 'lesser teams' I couldn't argue with you about Lafai, he really hasn't hit much form so far this year. I do think you need to go back over the tapes from the recent games, including Charity Shield, before you call for more time for Luciana. He's had quite a few runs and... well, you look. Lattimore has been quite good so far this year, better than his 'reserve for the bench' tag. Dragons should seriously be 5 from 5 when they face the Sharks again in round 6.
Peter Phelps
Guest
Now who is confusing terms ? How they played is a fact, granted it is my judgement about how awful they were but I won't be the only one with that judgement. To say it was disrespectful is actually a slight against me personally in that it implies that I am against the Dragons in some biased way and nothing could be further from the truth. If the Sharks had continued to play the second half like they played the first then the Red V would not have come away with the win. This is why I say that the sharks gave it too them. By no stretch of the imagination can you call the Dragons hot after that display. You are clearly a one eyed Dragons supporter and that is fine but if you are going to write articles on your favourite team, you need to realise that not everyone will be wearing rose coloured spectacles.
Adam
Guest
It's not fact, it's your personal opinion. Don't confuse the two
Peter Phelps
Guest
Yeah, despite it being a poor game, I did take pleasure from seeing the result.
Peter Phelps
Guest
Its not disrespect, its a fact. If they play like that against quality opposition (Roosters, Cowboys, Storm), they will get blown away. Incidently, having plenty ball and keeping all your men on the field is an integral part of playing well.
Adam
Guest
Agree, Titans and Knights to come, games we are expected to win, and should do, but it's another test of our consistency. Lafai let in both tries to James Roberts in round one and then let the ball bounce out Thursday when he should have been standing on the sideline. Needs improvement but Mary struggles to recognise a player out of form
Adam
Guest
I think that's a bit disrespectful seeing as they had no ball in the first half, a man down for 10 in the second and were still good enough to win. Sharks were poor at times but Dragons won it more than Sharks lost it.
Peter Phelps
Guest
I was going to say that "hot" is not a term I would use to describe their performance against the Sharks and to be honest it was the sharks that gave it away rather than the dragons earning it. Nice to be where they are on the table but there is a very long way to go yet.
Charles NSW
Guest
As the coach Mary has stuck with his group of players no matter what This draws the anger of many fans who feel his selections are questionable. However he is winning and while he does he is safe Providing he keeps improving this team he may have a chance of going all the way. Meanwhile I am really enjoying our wins!
Renegade
Roar Guru
March premiers again hey?
RoryStorm
Guest
The over reliance on JT was on full display last night. Close to the Broncos line he was moving that slow a ten year old would have had no trouble picking him off. I'm sure Bennett will be getting stuck into his team about it as it nearly cost the Broncos the game in the last ten minutes. McClean was a handy acquisition over the off season but it's going to be all for nought unless the Cowboys coach doesn't use him more wisely than last night. Agree with others on here that he is probably best used coming off the bench. Four big boppers out there at the same time is never going to work over the course of the game or the year. Kudos to Bennett and his big name players for the turn around in just one week. As you suggest Adam, it's a fool who writes Bennett off as a coach. I think we have all been guilty of it over the years and then Bennett leaves us with egg all over our face "again". Let's just hope this wasn't the Broncos getting up for last nights game only because it was the "big" Derby The Bookies must have been pretty happy with themselves after that result.
Joe
Roar Rookie
What really impressed me about the Dragons is their defense. They were up against one of the best packs in the NRL and they hit them really hard. Wade Graham can hit and I always rate Dale Finucane as one of the hardest hitter in 13 but DeBalin was smacking both forwards and backs so hard I thought he'd be done by half time. That defensive effort from him and all the rest of the Dragon continued all the way to the end of the game. Amazing effort especially after they were under the pump in the first half and hardly touched the ball in the opening minutes. Having a good defensive half like Hunt who I rate up there with Cronk defensively is a big plus. I think they will start the same as last year with a long streak of wins and I think with Hunt in the team they will no fade in the second half of the season.
Paul
Roar Guru
Adam, it's easy to be very positive with a 2 win start, especially when both sides we beat made the finals last year. The Dragons have shown they can win well if they get a heap of ball and can win ugly when things don't quite go their way. There's still a lot of room for improvement, especially in the halves. You've been full of praise for Hunt & Whiddup but I think they can go even further as a halves combination with more game time. The forwards also need to shake themselves up and really start motoring forwards at speed. I'm cautious about where the side will go from here and much will depend on McGregor recognising areas of improvement and making the necessary adjustments. Above all, as others have pointed out, we need to win games against sides likely to miss the finals, so lets start with the Titans.
Liberate
Guest
Latimore the journeyman was surprisingly good with the extra minutes. HIs bump n offload (albeit slow paced) led to a try that got the dragons back in the match. Hes not flashy but always does enough.
Arcturus
Roar Rookie
Not sure what to make of the Dragons start. Its good to be 2 from 2, and against top 8 teams from last year. However the Broncos looked short of a prop, a half and a training run when the Dragons ran all over them, and the Sharks only turned up for the first half - is there a fitness issue there? I'm not going to get too excited just yet.
Walter Penninger
Roar Guru
Every Dragon fan is happy with the start of the season, but next week we play the Titans away, a game against one of the less fancied teams, which are usually the games that the Dragons do not show up for and lose. James Graham appears to be showing his age a bit, but he is certainly a good addition. I would like to see Luciana Leilua get a decent chance in the forwards and McGregor's reliance on Lattimore I believe is misplaced. Lafai has also been a bit disappointing in the centres.