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It’s been a tough year for the Dragons, with the cellar dwellers securing just three wins coming in to Round 15.
Along with the sacking of coach Anthony Griffin and then expected replacement Jason Ryles then turning down the job. as well as losing major sponsor St George Bank as of 2024 during the week, there hasn’t been a lot for fans to cheer about.
But the Red V were able to put smiles on all of their supporters’ faces after their 36-30 victory over the Rabbitohs in front of a packed Netstrata Jubilee crowd on Saturday afternoon.
It was always going to be a tall ask for the Rabbitohs with the likes of Latrell Mitchell, Cam Murray, Cody Walker, Jai Arrow and Tom Burgess sitting on the sideline. Souths made the job even harder for themselves with some poor defence and finishing on the wrong end of a seven to three-penalty count.
“Discipline and poor ball control put us under the pump in the second half,” said Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou. “We didn’t defend our try line letting in a few soft tries.
One of the only sides yet to have the week off, the coach is happy his team finally get a rest.
“There is a bit of fatigue in us now. We’ve got the bye now, we can come back fresh and have that motivation to defend our try line.
“It will be back I’m sure but the bye has come at a good time.”
It was the perfect opportunity for the Dragons to take advantage of the injury-affected opponents and try and jump off the bottom of the ladder.
The Dragons were looking comfortable for most of the match, leading 36-14 with just five minutes to go, but three tries in three minutes to the visitors late in the game gave the home side a scare and set up the chance for a possible golden point game.
“I got pretty nervous towards the end there,” said Ben Hunt after the game his side’s narrow escape.
“We got too comfortable and took our foot off the pedal. You can’t do that against a good side like that.”
The best right-hand side attack in the competition were first on the board, with Richard Kennar crossing out wide for the Bunnies in the ninth minute.
But the Red V hit back after a good amount of possession and then took the lead just a few minutes later after tries to Hunt and Mikaele Ravalawa. The Dragons continued to dominate the game, and some ill-discipline from the visitors saw a penalty goal to Zac Lomax give the Dragons a 12-4 lead close to halftime.
Origin hopeful Keaon Koloamatangi couldn’t believe his luck when an uncontested last tackle bomb landed in his hands, and he stormed over the try line to narrow the gap to 12-8 before the break.
The Dragons extended their lead early in the second half when Jacob Liddle crossed over to score. The Bunnies returned serve shortly after when Cook break through the defensive line and sprinted downfield for Isaiah Tass to score.
Tass turned from hero to villain when gifting the Red V perfect field position after being penalised for a blatant escort, with Jaydn Su’A scoring a try in the next set.
The Dragons kept the momentum going with 12 minutes to go when Michael Molo added his name to the scorecard, with Jaiyden Hunt joining the party soon after to give the Red V a 36-14 lead. The game was turned on its head with just three late tries to the Rabbitohs setting up the late showdown, but the Dragons were able to hold on for the win.
“It was a bit stressful at the end there but I think the positives clearly outweighed the negatives for us tonight, said Dragons interim coach Ryan Carr.
“They worked really hard this week, we played a really good opposition, and we’ve just got 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.”
Following on from the NSW Blues’ Origin loss in Game I along with injuries to a few of their stars, many Rabbitohs players knew Saturday’s game against the Dragons was going to also be a chance to impress the selectors and put forward their bids to be picked for Game II.
Cook was left out of the opening game in place of Api Koroisau and is one of the front runners to get the nod at nine.
Koloamatangi was in the mix for Game I before succumbing to injury, but hasn’t missed a beat since his return and is in line to get the green light this time around. Both were impressive for the Rabbitohs on Saturday and did everything possible to get selected for NSW.
“He was outstanding today, did everything to keep us in the game,” said Demetriou of Cook.
If the selectors are looking for combinations like the ‘Panthers connection’, then Campbell Graham and Cam Murray are up for starting spots. Former Souths halfback Adam Reynolds is in the mix to take over from the injured Nathan Cleary, Cody Walker could be named as his five-eighth with Jarome Luai under pressure to keep his spot.
And with Latrell Mitchell set to be fit for Game II, it could well be the NSW Rabbitohs ready to take on Queensland next Wednesday.
“Origin is such a special arena for the players, and as a coach you want your boys to have that experience,” said Demetriou.
“I think they will represent their state well if they get selected.”
Many league fans argue over where the perfect position for Dragons skipper Ben Hunt is to play. While most of his time is spent wearing the number seven for the Red V while also carrying the team on his back, Hunt then becomes one of the most effective dummy halves in the competition when playing at number nine for the Queensland Origin side.
Before former Dragons coach Anthony Griffin departed the club, he had Hunt play a few club games at hooker in a desperate attempt to spark something in the struggling side. While the talented playmaker is always successful in both roles, he apparently wanted to go back to his position in the halves.
Frontrunner to takeover from Griffin is Sea Eagles assistant Shane Flanagan has reportedly told Hunt he can play halfback next year if he becomes coach.
“I had a small chat with Flanno and it was more about his intentions that he wanted to come in and coach and if he did get the job that he would want me to play halfback,” said Hunt.
And after Saturday’s efforts of one try, and having a hand in two others along with beautifully guiding his team around the park, Hunt made his point clear that number seven is where he wants to be.