The Illawarra Steelers Harold Matthews Side beat the St George Dragons 52-6 at UOW Jubilee Oval, Kogarah.
The Steelers took the opportunity to rest some players, with them set to three games in the next seven days.
The Steelers were slow to start the game but at the 10th minute lock Hamish Holland proved too much to handle as scored the first try.
The Dragons took until the 22nd minute to score through second rower Hayden Budd and level the scores.
The Steelers took advantage of a Dragons mistake close to the line two minutes later when winger Caleb Pearman scored a spectacular try on debut.
In the shadows of half-time, Illawarra fullback Jack Walsh broke straight through the Dragons and scored a try to hand his side a 14-6 advantage at the break.
The Steelers continued where the left off after half-time when front rower Blake Dowel crashed over next to the posts.
A further two tries to winger Hayden Sutton as well as tries to Walsh, Mathew Feagai and Max Feagai rounded out the 46-point victory.
Illawarra skipper Ollie Parrish was impressed with his teammates' performance:
"Our second half was really good. In the first half we gave away a few penalties and kept dropping the ball," Parrish said.
After Benny (coach Ben Linde) had a talk to us at half-time, we came out well and we showed a lot of energy."
Assistant Coach Paul Hatchell was pleased to see Illawarra overcome their jittery start.
"Our defence is the key, we really work hard on that, we’ve worked hard all pre-season getting that right," Hatchell said.
"We’re hitting our goals at the moment which is really good. Attack-wise if you get the defence right then the attack comes a fair bit easier as we do have a fair bit of strike across the park."
Aaron Schoupp, the Feagai brothers, Dowel, skipper Connor Muhleisen and Sam Hooper were selected in the NSW Under-16s squad last week and Hatchell couldn’t be prouder of their selections.
"The higher honours are the result of our team effort," he said.
"It’s really good for those six guys to gain those achievements and it’s really exciting for them."
Illawarra Steelers 52 (Hamish Holland 2, Hayden Sutton 2, Jack Walsh 2, Caleb Pearman, , Blake Dowel, Max Feagai, Mathew Feagai, tries; Hamish Holland 3, Jayden Sullivan 3 goals) defeated St George Dragons 6 (Hayden Budd try, Izaiah Aldridge goal) at UOW Jubilee Oval. Half-time: Steelers 14-6.
The Illawarra Steelers SG Ball side recorded a strong 42-18 victory over the St George Dragons at UOW Jubilee Oval, Kogarah.
The Steelers were quick out of the blocks when Jiye Ellis scored in the corner in just the third minute.
The visitors continued a dominant first half with further tries to centre Ethan Abou-Ghaida, Zaan Weatherall and another through Ellis.
The Dragons were able to score just two minutes from half-time through winger Ethan Hicks, though the Steelers held a 26-4 advantage at the break.
The Dragons come out with a new lease on life in the second half when winger Shondre-Lee Silva scored.
The Dragons continued their comeback when they scored two more tries through John Ryan and Simeone Taateo but it wasn't enough as the Steelers scored another three tries themselves to round out the 24-point win.
Overall coach Shane Millard was happy with the performance.
"We probably conceded more than what we wanted to but we completed at 80 per cent in the first half. The second half was a different story, but the main thing is we needed to some points," Millard said.
"We ticked that box so now we can just move forward. We’re a good footy team, the boys just have to hang onto the ball and be more patient.
"The Dragons had nothing to lose. They threw it around a bit and gave it a red-hot crack. We are going to need to improve heading into the semi-finals."
Illawarra Steelers 42 (Jiye Ellis 2, Blair Grant 2, Ethan Abou-Ghaida, Zaan Weatherall, Drew Gough, Samuel McCann tries; Zaan Weatherall 4 goals) defeated St George Dragons 18 (Ethan Hicks, Shondre Lee-Silva, John Ryan, Simeone Taateo tries, Liam Christensen 1 goal) at UOW Jubilee Oval. Half-time: Steelers 26-4.
The Illawarra Steelers Tarsha Gale side suffered a 48-28 loss to the Penrith Panthers at St Mary’s Leagues Club Stadium on Saturday.
The Steelers had a last start forfeit and were looking to continue their previous winning form. Unfortunately they came face to face with the in-form Penrith side.
The girls will be out to make amends when they host the Canberra Raiders at WIN Stadium on Saturday, where they will be looking to gain back some momentum leading into the finals.
Penrith Panthers 48 (Lorna Shepherd 3, Cheryl Varga 2, Leone Tuivaiti-Higgs, Dena Isaako, Nikita Katoa, Norlynn Tu’ifua, Jaime-Lee Davies tries; Lorna Shepherd, Norlynn Tu’ifua, Cheryl Varga, Malelega Lavemai goals) defeated Illawarra Steelers 28 (Lilly-Rose Bennett 2, Keeley Davis 2, Rikeya Horne, Abby Holmes tries, Lilly-Rose Bennett, Keeley Davis goals) at St Mary’s Leagues Club Stadium.
