FULLTIME SCORE: Saints 54 - Auckland 0
Match Conditions: Dry, stiff breeze favouring Auckland 1st half
Attendance: 7, 500
POST MATCH SUMMARY:
THE MIGHTY DRAGONS 
MASSACRE 
AUCKLAND WARRIORS
54 - 0
AMOS ROBERTS RE-WRITES HISTORY BOOKS

Saints were magnificent!!
The last few weeks have been terrible. Injuries, suspensions, rep duties and a much publicised retirement left Saints without 7 key players.
But the mighty Dragons have shown they've got plenty in reserve....guts, determination and AMOS ROBERTS! 
Front rower, Corey Pearson was tremendous. He tackled like a lock and ran like a centre...he set up his inside backs, prising open the defence and paving the way for his team mates. Pearson ran an incredible 110 metres of hit ups in the first 40 minutes of the match running head first into a strong wind.
In a match which started with Saints on the back foot, we watched our guys quickly get on top and with the wind against them, pile on 22 points in the first half. Trent Barrett and Nathan Brown were all over the park, constantly talking to their team mates and reassuring the young players that we had the better of the visitors.
In the 2nd half we just sat back and enjoyed the ride as the lads carved up the opposition.
Other highlights of the match include:
-Every Saints player deserves man of the match especially the forwards who were relentless.
-Tingha is back! Nathan Blacklock scored a hat trick of tries and enjoyed a few somersaults.
-Jason Hooper had another top match and saved the day on a number of occasions.
-Colin Ward is playing 1st grade again
-TV star Wes Patten is back in the big time
-Amos Roberts scored 22 points (1 try + 9 goals) to become the highest points scorer on debut in first grade in the history of the game !

The team looked quite different to the team we thought we would have by round 14. For a start we were coming to terms with the loss of Lance Thompson , injured and out for the season, then there was the suspensions of Craig Smith and Wayne Bartrim as well as the call up of Jamie Ainscough and Shaun Timmins to Origin. All this was happening with the Anthony Mundine saga yelling at us in the background which culminated in Choc's 'retirement' mid week. To make matters worse, on match day, we lost Chris Leikvoll and Matt Cooper, both late withdrawals through injury. We were witnessing the worse week I have ever seen as a Dragons supporter with the only exception being the dark days of the 'Super League' media wars which engulfed Rugby League and decimated StGeorge in 1996. But in 1996, we witnessed an incredible comeback from the Dragons who came from behind to win match after match and make it to the Grand Final against all odds.

In 2000, its obvious that the Dragon spirit is still as good as it ever was when in round 14  StGeorge -Illawarra, fielded a team which mainly comprised of reserves and  players who had barely made a name for themselves in 1st division. Wes Patten was playing his first match for Saints in 1st grade and set up a try. Older fans had to blink as they read the line-up when Mark Gasnier found himself in the centres - Gaz scored 2 tries.  Luke Branighan with only a handful of top grade matches under his belt was to further prove that he represents the future. Colin Ward still finding form after coming back from a long injury spell acquitted himself perfectly when he was suddenly 're-called' into 1st grade. And then there was Amos Roberts. This guy played 1st grade like he had always played, full of confidence and overflowing with talent. It was hard to believe that it was his first grade debut, but it was. And what a debut! Amos Roberts kicked all the Dragons goals, 9 from 11 plus he scored a try for a personal tally of 22 points which is a record.

Saints best were the whole team. They played like they were a well established unit and looked nothing like a team which was thrown together at the last minute. Trent Barrett and Nathan Brown excelled themselves by keeping the team focussed. Barrett in particular controlled the match from start to end while Brown's captaincy and his in-goal grubbers were the best I've seen from him all year. Luke Patten was as safe as ever and he ran the ball with confidence as did Lee Murphy who ran hard and defended just as hard. Nathan Blacklock played his best game of the year scoring a hat trick of tries. Every forward, without exception did his job. But amongst them all stood Corey Pearson who terrified the opposition in the first half and set the pattern for the rest of the match. Luke Bailey, Darren Treacy were next best as both often ran all over the top of their opponents. To a man, the pack was near perfect with Terry Lamey, Andrew Hart, Robbie Simpson and Colin Ward all putting their hands up in support and keeping a straight line in defence.

Without saying too much about Auckland, they were terrible. They had the wind at their backs in the first half and kept coming at Saints for the first 10 minutes but after that they had little opportunity, often losing the ball cheaply. They were made to pay by being thrashed in the first half and then massacred in the 2nd half.

As things rolled off the production line, here's how the tries and match unfolded...

11 min: Penalty Goal, Roberts. 2-0
14 min: Luke Branighan steals ball 10 m out and Saints almost score. Auckland hopelessly offside and Saints penalty. Brown thinks of quick tap but opts for penalty goal. Roberts kicks it. 4-0
20 min: Saints finding gaps and gaining the ascendancy. A move starts from 60 m out and Pearson gets the ball, hits it up and with a great short ball, puts Barrett into gap with Blacklock in support. Barrett draws fullback and passes inside to a flying Tingha who scores under posts. Roberts converts. 10-0
27 min: Saints attacking right flank for some minutes on the back of repeat sets. With Auckland dead on their feet, the play switches and the ball is sent to the left flank and Branighan who makes a half break from 10 m out. He passes to Treacy who sends a top ball to Pearson who scores next to sticks. Roberts converts. 16-0
31 min: Saints on attack again thanks to brilliant charge down from Pearson. A few moments later, Branighan's cross field bomb from 10 m out ends up with Lamey taking the ball with his back to the Auckland line. He is unaware that he has an open try line behind and passes to Bailey who appears to be tackled but instead flicks up a great pass to Blacklock who scampers towards the line. Tingha almost skates through but is met by the covering defenders. He then pops the ball out to Hooper who crosses unopposed and improves his position. Conversion by Roberts is successful. 22-0

2nd HALF:
53 min: After some early Auckland attack and resistance, Saints make short work of their opponents with some ground making pushes up the middle. Gasnier scores a solo try from 15 m out running past some lazy defenders who seem unaware that Gasnier had a good side step. The try is under the posts. Roberts converts. 28-0
58 min: Barrett almost does a carbon copy as he also steps and races through for a soft 4 pointer. Saints gets back to back tries and it looks like of case 'how many?' Roberts converts. 34-0
65 min: For the final 15 minutes of the match Saints run riot. Ward, 20 m out, distributes from dummy half to his left as Saints launch another raid. Plenty of players in the backline have their hands up and are keen to get the ball. Roberts gets it first and sends a cut out pass to Wes Patten who weaves and then passes to Lamey who sends a short one to Brown who in turn finds Blacklock on the inside who scores his 2nd try under the posts. Roberts converts. 40-0
68 min: Roberts makes a simple break out wide which starts 40 from his own try line. He runs for all its worth and puts it to the boot as the cover converges. Blacklock chases the ball down and scores his 3rd in a hat trick of tries, touching down just inside the dead ball line. Roberts converts his 9th goal from 9 attempts. 46-0
72 min - Saints notch up half a century: Roberts scores a well deserved try after a simple catch and pass movement close to the opposition's line. This gives him a personal tally of 22 points which is new record for a 1st grade player on debut. Ironically he misses converting his own try from a wide-ish position and smudges his kicking average. 50-0
76 min: Gasnier shows us his side step one more time. From the half way he confronts Auckland fullback, Lee Oudenryn who had an awful match. Oudenryn, one of the fastest men in the game shows Gasnier the side line. Gasnier in turn, shows Oudenryn  the way to the try line and scores his 2nd try of the match out wide. Roberts misses conversion. 54-0

...now Saints can get on with it, put the nonsense behind them and look to the future. At this stage, my only concern is the inconsistent nature of the Dragons in 2000.

Although the opposition was pretty ordinary  it was fair commentary from the TV that Saints never got out of first gear today and means we can get better. Trent Barrett in an interview after the match summed it well when he said it was good to discover the depth in the club but he conceded that we have to do it all again next week.

We play Parramatta next Sunday and MUST back up the big win against Auckland with a comprehensive victory against the Eels. I'm looking forward to it.