The St George Illawarra Dragons were defeated 60-10 by the Canberra Raiders at GIO Stadium, Canberra on Saturday.
The Young Dragons scored only two tries in the loss throughboth William Tom and Izaac Thompson.
Head Coach Ben Hornby hade made one change to the line-up announced midweek with debutant Bessie Aufaga-Toomaga replacing Daniel Stojanovski on the wing.
The Young Dragons, who wore their alternative attire for the encounter, had arrived in the nation’s capital in search of their first two-points of the competition.
However, instead, they found themselves trailing early on when Raiders centre Brenko Lee scored a four-pointer in the fourth minute.
Unfortunately, the home side continued pressing forward in search of further points and were rewarded ten minutes later through second-rower Jack Williams’ efforts.
Raiders captain Lachlan Croker converted to make it 10-0.
This was followed up by Lee notching his second try of the afternoon for the hosts in the 22nd minute.
Croker converted to make it 16-0.
The Raiders added further misery to the visiting defence with a four-pointers to both lock Tevita Pangai Junior and fullback Andrew Heffernan to the halfhour mark.
Crocker converted one of his two attempts to make it 26-0.
The Raiders skipper notched two tries of his own prior to the halftime whistle, converting one of his attempts as well to make it 36-0.
The Young Dragons were the quickest off the mark when second-half play resumed and struck early through winger William Tom in the 41st minute to make it 36-4.
However, celebrations were short-lived when the hosts replied through both Williams and Pangai Junior shortly thereafter.
Croker converted both attempts to make it 48-4.
The points barrage by the home side continued on the hour mark when Raiders prop Brett Solomon scored between the posts.
This was followed by Raiders utility Jack Hickson coming off the bench to get his name on the scoresheet five minutes later,
Croker converted both attempts again to make it 60-4.
The visitors had had several attacking opportunities negated throughout the second stanza but finally managed to bank a further four-points through centre Izaac Thompson in the 69th minute.
Dragons winger Bessie Aufaga-Toomaga converted to make it 60-10.
St George Illawarra Dragons 10. Tries: Tom, Thompson. Goals: Aufaga-Toomaga (1/2).
Canberra Raiders 60. Tries: Lee (2), Crocker (2), Williams (2), Pangai Junior (2), Heffernan, Hickson, Solomon. Goals: Croker (8/11).
