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Clint Gutherson returns after his 10 minutes in the sin bin and his Dragons go on the attack, Daniel Atkinson putting up a perfectly placed bomb that Sunia Turuva takes on his own tryline and is immediately tackled in-goal.
The Tigers try a short dropout and multiple players go up for it – Tigers centre Starford To’a gets to it first and bats the ball forward, Sione Fainu picks it up and runs clear … but the referee spots the knock on and calls play back.
To’a thinks he hit it backwards and calls for a captain’s challenge, but the bunker confirms the on-field ruling and the Tigers are out of challenges for the rest of this game.
And then the Dragons cash in, sending the ball left after the scrum, with Tyrell Sloan diving for the corner – and going into touch, thanks to a terrific tackle from Turuva.
Tigers 4, Dragons 0 after 14 minutes
The Tigers go on the attack again and get a repeat set for a Dylan Egan ruck infringement, but play breaks down when Jahream Bula is wrapped up by a great Daniel Atkinson legs tackle and offloads to ground.
But a Dragons hand knocked the ball on first, and it’s a Tigers scrum. This time they strike, sending the ball left and Adam Doueihi sliding over out wide to continue an excellent individual season with another try.
Doueihi just misses the sideline conversion to the right.
Tigers 4, Dragons 0 after 10 minutes
Plenty of action early in this contest with a Tigers bomb knocked back by Jeral Skelton, the loose ball is kicked ahead by Sunia Turuva and then Jock Madden, and Dragons veteran Clint Gutherson tackles Madden without the ball.
It’s a professional foul, and Gutherson is sent to the sin bin.
The Tigers have a golden chance to open the scoring here, with an entire set on the Dragons’ line, but the home side defend it well with 12 men and escape this time.
Dragons 0, Tigers 0 after four minutes
There’s a boisterous crowd at Kogarah for this one despite the Dragons sitting at last on the ladder. They might not be big on wins this year but they boast some of the best young forwards in the competition, and one of those – Loko Jnr Pasifiki Tonga – takes the first hit-up of the contest after the Tigers kick off.
Then there’s an immediate line break from Mathew Feagai down the right as the Dragons split the Tigers wide open, and Daniel Atkinson’s last-tackle bomb is allowed to bounce in a bit of an early scare for the visitors, before the ball bounces kindly for Jahream Bula.
Encouraging start for the Dragons.
Dragons 0, Tigers 0 after one minute
The Dragons have already played one game today, and lost, despite a fast start in their NRLW clash with Canberra. Teagan Berry scored in the opening minute of the match but it was all Raiders from the half hour mark, Bobbi Law, Grace Kemp, Mackenzie Wiki and Simaima Taufa grabbing tries for the visiting side in a 20-4 win.
Penrith playmaker Jack Cogger says there are “no hard feelings” towards Cody Walker after the Rabbitohs veteran apologised for kicking him, although both players are set for stints on the sideline after a spiteful affair.
The Panthers snapped a two-game losing streak to consolidate top spot on the ladder with a 36-14 victory over South Sydney at CommBank Stadium on Friday night. The match was notable for the Walker incident, a three-try haul to Panthers winger Tom Jenkins that took his season tally to an equal club-record 25, and a breakout performance from teen Souths winger Dayne Jennings.
Cogger was also sent to the sin bin late for a high shot on Ashton Ward, which resulted in a grade-two contrary conduct charge that carries a two-to-three game suspension.
However, the biggest talking point was the Walker brain snap. It resulted in his sin binning, a subsequent try being disallowed at a crucial juncture and a grade-two contrary conduct charge on Saturday, which carries a one-week suspension if he pleads guilty. If Walker unsuccessfully contests it, he’ll be sidelined for two matches.
St George Illawarra Dragons
1. Clinton Gutherson 2. Setu Tu 3. Mathew Feagai 4. Valentine Holmes 5. Tyrell Sloan 6. Daniel Atkinson 7. Kyle Flanagan 8. Loko Jnr Pasifiki Tonga 9. Damien Cook 10. Toby Couchman 11. Dylan Egan 12. Hamish Stewart 13. Ryan Couchman.
Bench: 14. Jacob Liddle 15. Luciano Leilua 16. Josh Kerr 17. Emre Guler 18. Jacob Halangahu 19. Lyhkan King-Togia
Wests Tigers
1. Jahream Bula 2. Sunia Turuva 3. Heamasi Makasini 4. Starford To’a 5. Jeral Skelton 6. Jock Madden 7. Adam Doueihi 8. Terrell May 9. Apisai Koroisau 15. Bunty Afoa 11. Tony Sukkar 12. Sione Fainu 13. Alex Twal.
Bench: 10. Fonua Pole 14. Josese Lanyon 16. Alex Seyfarth 17. Latu Fainu 18. Faaletino Tavana 19. Charlie Murray
Wests Tigers chief executive Shaun Mielekamp has had the “interim” tag taken out of his title, and one of his first acts in charge will be to lobby for the club to make an unexpected return to Leichhardt Oval this season if they host a home final.
After taking over from predecessor Shane Richardson in December on an interim basis, Mielekamp’s appointment to the position on a permanent basis was announced on Friday.
The former CEO of A-League club Central Coast Mariners took the helm at a tumultuous time as the club was riven by factionalism.
But Mielekamp has presided over a period of relative stability: the stakeholders in charge of the Tigers are on the same page; head coach Benji Marshall has extended his contract; key players Jahream Bula, Taylan May, Terrell May, Adam Doueihi, Sione Fainu, Sunia Turuva and Heamasi Makasini have recommitted; and the team is a chance of breaking a finals drought that stretches back to 2011.
“It is a good time for the club, and to be acknowledged that we are on the right track is probably what this is,” Mielekamp said.
Hello and welcome to our coverage of Saturday’s clash between the Dragons and Wests Tigers at Kogarah. It’s Dom Brock with you on blog duties today, and Billie Eder will have a match report at the conclusion of the game.
There’s a couple of ways to look at how these teams are tracking this season. The positive: neither side has lost any players to State of Origin duty this week. The negative: in the past two months these teams have won three games between them.
The Tigers’ fast start to the year has faded with six losses from their past eight games, but they remain in the hunt for a finals finish and sit four competition points outside the top eight. They are without star playmaker Jarome Luai tonight due to concussion, with Jock Madden replacing him and Alex Twal and Bunty Afoa returning to the forward pack. Taylan May is out with a shoulder injury, replaced by Heamasi Makasini.
No such problems for the Dragons, who have the same squad that went down by eight points to Canberra last week. A month on from their lone win of the season, against premiers Brisbane, they can do real damage to the Tigers’ finals hopes here.
Kick-off is at 5.30pm.
