The Dragons fell to the Sharks 34-12 in their Local Derby clash at Ocean Protect Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Dragons enjoyed much of the ascendancy throughout the opening forty and took a two-tries-to-one lead into the sheds as a result of it.
Unfortunately for Dean Young’s men, a sluggish start to the second half handed the hosts a chance to roar back into the contest and they took full advantage pouring on five unanswered tries to reclaim the Monty Porter Cup on home soil.
The Dragons’ young forwards were forced to get through a boatload of work with the Couchman twins, Hamish Stewart, and Dylan Egan all making 40-plus tackles.
Dean Young lamented the side’s second-half ball-handling whilst describing the contest as a game of two halves.
“It was disappointing,” Young said.
“Everyone probably got to see what the new Dragons look like and got a good look at what the old Dragons look like… I think we completed 11-from-19 sets for the second half and they were at 21-from-23 – there’s the game.”
Match: Sharks v Dragons
Round 14 -
home Team
Sharks
6th Position
away Team
Dragons
17th Position
Venue: Ocean Protect Stadium, Sydney
The Dragons enjoyed some of the early territory, but were unable to crack the Cronulla line utilising a Captain’s Challenge in the process which was deemed inconclusive.
Cronulla’s poor handling – which was exacerbated by an unsuccessful Captain’s Challenge – invited the Dragons onto the attack once more a quarter of the way in.
A high tackle penalty off the scrum win handed Valentine Holmes an opportunity to knock over a gift two points and earn the Dragons a lead.
The first try of the contest belonged the Sharks however with Ronaldo Mulitalo going over in the right-hand corner after the Dragons’ edge had been stripped for numbers.
Undeterred, the Dragons’ defence aimed up off the following kick-off to force a kick off the back foot and pave the way for Setu Tu to produce a sensational kick return.
The Red V swung it left the following play with Valentine Holmes slamming the ball down to finish it off before converting his own try to put the visitors up 8-6.
The Dragons found another before the break off the back of a Dylan Egan bone-rattler with Clint Gutherson taking off down a narrow short side and putting it through the hands to Mathew Feagai who went over in the corner.
The Sharks got off to a flier to start the second with Briton Nikora finding a try running back against the angle after a mountain of pressure to tie things up before William Kennedy finished a long-range effort the following set to put the hosts back on top.
NRL Match Highlights: Round 14 vs. Sharks
The Sharks took advantage of another Dragons error to surge further ahead with KL Iro putting Samuel Stonestreet over untouched off an attacking scrum to make it a double-digit difference.
The home side’s hot start to the second stanza continued with Mulitalo finding a second an hour as their lead ballooned out to an imposing one.
They sealed the win as time ticked away with Braydon Trindall slipping through a pair of defenders and diving over to score.
NRL Press Conference: Round 14 vs. Sharks
