A chaotic week at the Dragons ended in humiliation after they were thrashed by the Roosters on Anzac Day despite the best efforts of rookie Kade Reed who almost had one of the great welcome to the NRL moments.
After parting ways with coach Shane Flanagan on Monday, the Dragons appointed club legend Dean Young as the interim where he made some massive calls both on and off the field.
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How those decisions play out remains to be seen, but the early signs aren’t great after they were belted 62-16 by the red-hot Roosters who remembered to bring their best from the opening whistle.
The Dragons did themselves no favours with two sin bins in the first half, while a couple of dropped kicks led directly to Roosters tries.
It will take a while for Young to make his mark on a side that has now lost eight in a row to start the season, with fans able to cheer two things on Saturday as they signed Scott Drinkwater for 2027 and beyond, while Reed showed glimpses of what he can do.
MATCH CENTRE: Dragons vs Roosters teams, scores, videos, updates
THE REED V
Flanagan never wanted to expose Reed to the NRL until he thought he was ready, but Young’s first point of order after taking over was to hand the reins to the diminutive half.
And the gamble almost paid off immediately when the debutant threw a monster cut-out pass for Mat Feagai to score in the corner, only for the roars in the crowd to be silenced by the Bunker who spotted a knock on.
It would’ve been the ultimate tone-setter for Reed who was fearless on debut, chipping for himself and then kicking early in a set to try to break up the defensive line.
It was almost unfair that it was his dropped ball under pressure that led to James Tedesco sprinting away to bring up the 50, with Reed denied a try in the final minute for obstruction.
He’s still a work in progress and was a target in defence with six missed tackles, but at least he’s someone Dragons fans can get excited about.
It’s up to his more senior teammates to support him after Luciano Leilua was sent to the sin bin for a high shot on Sam Walker as he kicked the ball, while Daniel Atkinson also spent time off the field for a professional foul.
“That is as dumb as it gets. He just let his teammates down and the scoreline could blow out in ten minutes,” Greg Alexander said of the Leilua high tackle in commentary.
Leilua Sin Bin ‘As DUMB as it gets!’ | 00:37
HOT CHOOKS
They’ve been saved by a couple of second-half fightbacks in recent weeks, but this was the complete package from a Roosters side that is starting to look like Penrith’s biggest threat for the title.
Skipper James Tedesco continued his stunning start to the season with another two try assists, with the fullback finding holes through the middle to set up Walker for a first-half double.
Tedesco finished with 248 run metres and seven tackle busts, with Cooper Cronk declaring at halftime he was quickly becoming the Dragons’ “worst nightmare” given how hard he was to tackle.
The entire spine was on fire with Daly Cherry-Evans setting up three tries in the first half, Walker added a few line dropouts to his tries, while Reece Robson was fantastic out of dummy-half and scored his first try for the club.
This was the Roosters at their scary best, but they will face a much tougher test next week when they take on the Broncos in what should be one of the games of the year.
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