By Jack Books
The St George Dragons Junior Representative teams suffered poor weather and results against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at Remondis Stadium, Cronulla on Saturday.
Both the Harold Matthews (U16) and SG Ball (U18) were unable to secure bragging rights in their respective local derby clashes.
The Dragons Harold Matthews had to compete against poor weather as well as tough opposition.
The heavy rain causing dropped balls and falls, throwing the players off their game.
The Dragons were initially able to hold their own, with try saving tackles from Tristan Scott and Peter Polutele keeping the boys on their toes.
However, repeated mistakes including offsides and knock-ons gave the Sharks an advantage the Dragons could not afford to give, putting 22 points on the board before half time.
Despite making several breaks, the Dragons were unable to put any points on the board; with the Sharks scoring four more tries, ending the game at 42-0.
The Dragons SG Ball came out strong, immediately putting the pressure on Sharks with an early try from David Naufahu, followed by a second from Jayden El-Jalkh, set up by Brandon Boumelhem.
However, the Sharks made a comeback evening out the score at 10-10.
An intercept by Daniel Stojanovski put the pressure back on the Sharks in the final minutes of the second half but a third try from the Sharks put Cronulla ahead 14-10 at the end of the half.
While the Sharks went in for an early try, the Dragons again seized the momentum.
Tries from Reece Robson and Lachlan Hughes put the Dragons ahead 22-18.
It seemed that the Dragons would secure their first win in three weeks.
However, a penalty saw the Dragons down one man in the final ten minutes of the game.
Despite a solid defence and several strong sets, the Dragons were unable to hold their ground.
The Sharks managing to score two more tries, pushing them to 30-22 win over the Dragons.
Harold Matthews:
St George Dragons 0.
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 42.
SG Ball:
St George Dragons 22. Tries: Naufahu, El-Jalkh, Robson, Hughes. Goals: Stojanovski (3/4).
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 30.
