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Two of the NRL’s in-form teams will come together when competition pacesetters St George Illawarra Dragons face reigning premiers the Melbourne Storm at Kogarah Oval this Sunday.
Led by the ultra-impressive halves pairing of Gareth Widdop and Ben Hunt and English forward James Graham, the Dragons have finished every round on top of the ladder and have assumed favouritism for this year’s premiership.
After falling to the New Zealand Warriors in Auckland in Round 7, the Dragons defied a short turnaround to defeat the Sydney Roosters 24-8, with a try to Nene Macdonald after just one minute of play setting the tone for another top-class performance from Paul McGregor’s men.
Halfback Hunt continues to vindicate the club’s decision to pursue him in January last year, with his try before half-time seeing the side take a 12-2 lead into the break before getting on with the job in the second half, while Tyson Frizell won the Spirit of Anzac Medal for being the best on ground.
But the win was overshadowed by a controversial try awarded to Macdonald in the final quarter of the match, with the slow-motion replays showing that he just lost the ball from his grip as he was grounding it.
The bunker, which has come under fire several times since its inception in 2016, saw no reason at the time to overturn the try, as they were convinced that Macdonald had scored with his fingertips.
However, the referees later came out to concede that the try should not have been awarded. Who knows how the final ten minutes of the match would have unfolded had the try not been awarded?
(AAP Image/Craig Golding)
Regardless, the Dragons defence, ranked first in the competition, would have held out a Roosters side which, despite the acquisitions of James Tedesco and Cooper Cronk, which has seen them assume title favouritism before the season kick-off, has failed to fire in the opening eight rounds.
Just how far the Red V, so long a target of criticism and ridicule for their constant underachieving since the 1999 merger (the 2010 premiership aside), have come will be tested when they host the Storm, the reigning premiers, at home this Sunday afternoon.
After a sluggish start to the season, Craig Bellamy’s men have returned to top form, defeating the Brisbane Broncos by 34-20 at Suncorp Stadium before hammering the New Zealand Warriors by 50-10 in the annual Anzac Day night clash at AAMI Park.
Captain Cameron Smith continues to play well, even with his 35th birthday looming halfway through next month, while Billy Slater also continues to do so in what is likely to be his final season in the NRL.
Winger Josh Addo-Carr is also firming for a New South Wales State of Origin debut. He would be the Storm’s first Blue representative for many years if he is selected by coach Brad Fittler for the 6 June opener at the MCG.
Their return to form is also a sign that there is life after Cooper Cronk, with Ryley Jacks impressing in the number seven guernsey which Cronk had worn with distinction for 14 years between 2004 and 2017 inclusive.
(Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
The win over the Warriors, who had won six of their first seven matches, is the strongest indication yet that they will not give up their title without a fight.
Winning the premiership might be hard, but defending it is even harder – no team has gone back-to-back in a unified competition since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992-93, a quarter of a century ago.
Their next task, facing the ladder-leading Dragons in their Kogarah backyard, may appear hard on paper, but history may suggest otherwise.
In 34 games against the joint venture the Storm have emerged victorious on 24 occasions, with the Dragons winning nine times, most recently 20-10 against a depleted Storm side in 2016. There is one draw between the clubs, a 30-all tie at WIN Stadium in 2002.
The corresponding match last year saw the Storm win 34-22 in Wollongong after shooting out to a 22-4 half-time lead. On that day, the Dragons were missing their captain, Gareth Widdop, due to injury.
This will arguably be the biggest clash between the two sides since the 1999 grand final, which the Storm took out 20-18 after Craig Smith was awarded a penalty try in the dying minutes, giving the Victorian club their first premiership in what was just their second year in the competition.
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As if being denied nearly two decades ago wasn’t hard enough, the Dragons were also denied a berth in the 2006 grand final when it lost to an illegally assembled Melbourne Storm side in the preliminary final by 24-10.
Had the Dragons won that match, they would have fancied their chances against a Brisbane Broncos side they had defeated three times that season, including in a qualifying final at Suncorp Stadium.
To the present, and the Dragons side that has entertained us in the opening eight rounds of the competition is without doubt the best-assembled side since the one that took out the 2010 premiership.
As already mentioned above, Ben Hunt has proven his worth to the club and is firming to become the starting halfback for Queensland in the upcoming State of Origin series, while Paul Vaughan and Jack de Belin are also firming to make their debuts for New South Wales this year.
The impending absences of these players from the side will test the club’s depth during the dreaded Origin period, which will be compromised by the fact that this year teams will have only one bye due to a shortened season.
Before then, the Dragons will want to bank a few more wins while they can, starting with this Sunday’s huge clash against the Melbourne Storm at Kogarah Oval.
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