St George Illawarra Dragons have defeated Parramatta Eels 24-18 in The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup Qualifying Final at Jubilee Stadium, to book themselves a Major Semi-final berth against the Warriors.
Parramatta scored first points of the evening courtesy of a sneak try from Joey Lussick. Several set restarts put the Dragons under pressure and it was the veteran hooker who scooped the ball up and scored the try. Te Hurinui Twidle converted from directly in front for a 6-0 lead.
Dragons looked to bounce back when Cody Ramsey found Nick Tsougranis on the outside and the makeshift centre blitzed through the line with speed and passed to Nathan Lawson on the wing. Lawson was wide open to score a try but unfortunately tripped over and was tackled, with that sequence forcing Lawson off with injury.
St George Illawarra got their first points of the night through a nice combination between Jonah Glover and Raymond Faitala-Mariner. Glover played a short pass to Faitala-Mariner who ran a strong line to score. Glover converted the try to make the score 6-6.
Both sides were awarded penalties in the last few minutes of the first half with both Dragons and Eels opting to take the two points. Glover and Twidle both nailed their respective kicks to make the half-time score 8-8.
Dragons broke the stalemate in the second half courtesy of a classy solo try from Jonah Glover, who received the ball on the 10-metre line and skipped through several opposition players to score. Glover converted his own try to take the lead to 14-8.
St George Illawarra took advantage of the momentum swing to score back-to-back tries and gain control of the match. Some quick movement down the right edge saw Ramsey find Tsougranis who busted through the line and scored.
Dragons scored three tries on the trot and pushed the score-line out to 24-6. Lachlan Ilias combined with his halves partner Glover who burst through the line and scored with ease.
Parramatta bounced back with a try to keep themselves in the contest through Samuel Loizou. Ronald Volkman put up a bomb which was unable to be defused by Ramsey and the pill bounced perfectly for Loizou. Twidle nailed the conversion to tighten the score to 24-14.
The Eels scored back-to-back tries for the first time in the match as Volkman played a short ball to his halves partner Lorenzo Talataina, who cut through the Dragons’ defence to score. The kick was sprayed wide to leave the score at 24-18.
Talking points
– Jonah Glover put in a stellar performance in the Dragons’ win as the half scored two tries, assisted one and kicked four goals from five attempts.
– The Dragons overcame early adversity to win the match when they lost Nathan Lawson due to injury, with bench utility Haele Finau plugging a hole on the wing.
Key moment
The two sides were locked in a stalemate at 8-8 in the second half, but it was Glover who took matters into his own hands and scored a try for the Dragons which was crucial in their win.
What’s next?
Both teams will advance to week two of the finals at Leichhardt Oval with the Dragons to meet Minor Premiers, the Warriors in the Major Semi-final, while the Eels will face off against Canberra Raiders in the elimination Minor Semi-final.