St. George Illawarra Dragons
24
Match Complete
Sydney Roosters
22
| Z. Lomax |  | 80 | ||
| M. Feagai |  | 79 | ||
| 75 | | J. Suaalii | ||
| 75 | | J. Tedesco | ||
| J. Su'a | | 72 | ||
| 61 | | L. Keary | ||
| 54 | | J. Suaalii | ||
| 53 | | L. Keary | ||
| 51 | | J. Suaalii | ||
| 50 | | J. Tedesco | ||
| Z. Lomax |  | 47 | ||
| Z. Lomax | | 14 | ||
| B. Hunt | | 12 | ||
| Z. Lomax | | 9 | ||
| M. Suli | | 7 |
| 4 | Tries | 4 | ||
| 3 | Conversions | 3 | ||
| 1 | Penalty Goals | 0 | ||
| 0 | Field Goals | 0 |
The St George Illawarra Dragons begin a new era against cross-city rivals Sydney Roosters in NRL Round 12 action at Kogarah Oval. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 6pm (AEST).
It has been anything but easy for the Dragons recently. They have lost their past six games and head coach Anthony Griffin was sacked three days prior to this clash. To make the saga turn into a full-blown circus, players were made to front the media instead of the Dragons board for a decision they did not make.
Interim coach Ryan Carr has tried his best to shake things up in a short amount of time and give the Dragons the best chance possible of getting back to winning ways.
Team changes for the Red V include Zac Lomax coming in at centre for Max Feagai, Ben Hunt going back to halfback, Jacob Liddle starting at hooker, while Moses Mbye is dropped altogether with Jayden Sullivan demoted to the bench.
May has gone anything but right for the Roosters. After ending April with a grinding 14-0 victory against the Warriors, the Roosters have lost their past two matches in embarrassing fashion.
Averaging five points scored in their past two games and conceding an average of 34 points in this timeline, pressure is slowly but surely mounting on Trent Robinson.
To make things worse, Joey Manu is ruled out for the next few weeks while Sam Walker is rehabilitating from a knee injury. The glaring change for the Roosters on the team list is utility player Drew Hutchison being named at halfback while three-time premiership winner Luke Keary is back at five-eighth.
Prediction
Both sides are desperate to get back to winning ways. With that in mind, we should likely see a game filled with plenty of errors from both the Dragons and the Roosters.
But the hosts do play their first game under a new coach, albeit an interim one. If there’s one thing professional sport teaches us, it is that teams tend to start well under a fresh voice following a coach being sacked.
And that is why the Dragons will win by 6 in a low-scoring clash.
Game information
Venue: Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Sydney
Kick-off: 6pm (AEST)
TV: Fox League
Stream: Kayo Sports
Odds: Dragons $2.75; Roosters $1.45 – odds via PlayUp
Teams
Dragons
1. Tyrell Sloan 2. Mathew Feagai 3. Moses Suli 4. Zac Lomax 5. Mikaele Ravalawa 6. Talatau Amone 7. Ben Hunt 8. Jack de Belin 9. Jacob Liddle 10. Blake Lawrie 11. Jack Bird 12. Jaydn Su’A 13. Michael Molo
Interchange/Reserves: 14. Jayden Sullivan 15. Toby Couchman 16. Ben Murdoch-Masila 17. Josh Kerr 18. Francis Molo 19. Moses Mbye 20. Jaiyden Hunt 21. Zane Musgrove 22. Max Feagai
Roosters
1. James Tedesco 2. Corey Allan 3. Joseph Suaalii 4. Billy Smith 5. Jaxson Paulo 6. Luke Keary 7. Drew Hutchison 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9. Brandon Smith 10. Lindsay Collins 11. Egan Butcher 12. Sitili Tupouniua 13. Victor Radley
Interchange/Reserves: 14. Jake Turpin 15. Nat Butcher 16. Angus Crichton 17. Matthew Lodge 18. Sandon Smith 19. Fletcher Baker 20. Nathan Brown 21. Junior Pauga 22. Terrell May
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
Csheeersh....
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
I hope you have drowned and celebrated all day, Mr Whisky
Birthday Suit
Roar Rookie
Congrats mate, a well deserved win from your boys. Enjoy that whisky
Dutski
Roar Guru
:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :crying: :crying:
Pickett
Roar Rookie
Dutski. We are the best team in the comp. Best at playing teams into form.
Rossi
Roar Rookie
I used to do that after a big win back when I lived with my mates. Was the Bennett era so they got sick of it!
Rossi
Roar Rookie
When Radley was on, Dragons won 20-6. When he was off, Roosters 16-4. And it wasn't because he wasn't there giving away penalties or throwing silly passes, it's because Keary got the ball a lot more at first receiver and he carved Dragons up.
steveng
Roar Rookie
Can't win them all, but I would have made a good return having a bet on the margins picking Parra :laughing:
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
More of a blend fellow myself, but I do like a walk on the wild side from time to time...
Tony
Roar Guru
I recommend the Irish single malts
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
ooohhh, that's a new drop for me. Might discover :) . I do occasionally go wandering from the usual and discover new friends, Monkey Shoulder (great in small doses), Nak.ed Malt (in larger doses) and recently encountered a very plain packaged surprise in Bonailie which is sensational. I do have to budget.... JW Black in a pinch, JW Red is swill.
Tony
Roar Guru
I am now DP. There's a nice little bottle of Tullamore Dew that will help me celebrate the occasion.
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
well that second one didn't work out....
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
Dunno about Teddy's first, but Keary's first was def a lot forward. Can even see that in the pass.
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
Saturday is World Whisky Day Tony, were you aware of that?? Drags won on the bell, Saturday open celebrations... I could be in paradise!!
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
I'm thinking more why you tipped them in the first place :silly:
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
Dunno mate, World Whisky Day tomorrow... but instead of drowning I'll be celebrating...
Dutski
Roar Guru
Cheers mate. This year’s a write off. Time to ditch the dead wood and start building for 2024.
Glenn
Roar Rookie
Great effort and execution SAINTS! Now let's get back up there where we belong!