StGeorge vs Roosters Rnd12 2001

Saints On TV
ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA
DRAGONS

RUGBY LEAGUE FOOTBALL: TV PICS, RESULTS, REPORTS

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ROUND 12
SUNDAY 13 MAY 2001 - WIN STADIUM
KICKOFF: 2.05pm
SAINTS V ROOSTERS

DRAGONS 1.Amos Roberts, 2.Nathan Blacklock, 3.Mark Gasnier, 4.Lee Hookey, 5.Jamie Ainscough, 6.Trent Barrett, 7.Willie Peters, 8.Craig Smith (c), 9.Mark Riddell, 10.Jason Ryles
11.Darren Treacy, 12.Lance Thompson, 13.Andrew Hart.
Interchange:
14.Chris Leikvoll, 15.Jamie Fitzgerald, 16.Paul McGregor, 17.Wayne Bartrim.

ROOSTERS

1.Chris Flannery, 2. Trent Clayton,
3. Shannon Hegarty, 4. Matt Sing,
5. Anthony Minichiello, 6. Brad Fittler (C), 7. Paul Green, 8. Ian Rubin, 9. Simon Bonetti, 10. Quentin Pongia, 11. Bryan Fletcher, 12. Craig Fitzgibbon, 13. Luke Ricketson.
Interchange:
14. Dallas Hood, 15. Adrian Morley,
16. Michael Crocker, 17. Craig Wing.

TV Coverage:
(delayed) Channel 9 at 4pm
(delayed) Fox2 at 7.30pm

Kickoff Weather: Overcast 16ºC

Fine and cool to mild with north to northwest winds.

Track should be dead due to rain during the week
Betting: SportsBet (Qld)
Win: Saints $1. 80; Roosters $1. 90
Handicap: Roosters 1½ start
Referee: STEVEN CLARK

PREVIEW
RESULTS
MATCH REPORT
SOTV BEST PLAYERS
MATCH & CROWD PICS
REF REPORT

SOTV PREVIEW:
ROUND 12: SAINTS v ROOSTERS
WIN, Sun 13 May 2001:
C.SMITH's AUST CAREER AT CROSS ROADS
McGREGOR,SMITH,BARRETT RETURN FOR BIG MATCH
Craig Smith has asked for assistance from his team mates in an effort to stay alert in the latter stages of Sunday's match and eliminate any lifting of the knee. Smith's main concern is that he may tire and instinctively raise his leg. If suspended one more time, Smith has been reported as saying that he will quit Australia at the end of 2001 for

the UK where he is assured more consistent treatment from the ESL judiciary. The Dragon's captain has been outed twice this year while other players charged with the same offence have been exonerated.
Saints take on the Sydney City Roosters aka Eastern Suburbs this Sunday at WIN Stadium. This match sees the return of Paul McGregor from injury as well as Trent Barrett and Craig Smith from suspension. Both Saints and the Roosters boast near full strength teams and despite Saints

Smith in round 8, pic courtesy of NRL website at www.nrl.com

being considered under dogs by the many of the game's supporters, the punters don't agree and Saints have been installed as slight favourites.
This match should bring the house down.
Head to head (last 5 matches): Saints 4 - Easts 1
Last match: May 21, 2000 SFS won by Easts 34-24 (the infamous match refereed by Sean Hampstead who caned Saints from the opening whistle) after Easts led 24-0 at half time.
Referee Steven Clark: Last 4 matches with Saints (all 2000) Saints won 4, lost 1. Last time Steven Clark refereed Saints v Easts match: April 9, 2000 WIN won by Saints 24-20 after Easts led 16-0.
Record in 2001: Pts For: Saints 282 Easts 277; Pts Against: Saints 258 Easts 228.
Position on Ladder: Saints 9th (8 pts), Easts 5th (14 pts)
Players to watch: Barrett, Smith, Gasnier / Fittler, Fletcher, Fitzgibbon
OUR TIP: Saints by 14

RESULTS:
SAINTS 20 (Barrett2, Peters tries. Riddell 3/5, Bartrim 1/1 goals)
ROOSTERS 20 Clayton, Minichiello, Fitzgibbon tries. Fitzgibbon 4/5 goals)
Scrums: Roosters 9-6
Penalties: Saints 6-4
Ref: Steven Clark
Crowd: 9972
MATCH STATS
Possession: Saints 50%; Easts 50%
Completions: Saints 71%; Easts 66%
Handling Errors: Saints 11; Easts 12
Line Breaks: Sainys 9; Easts 7
Offloads: Saints 24; Easts 28
Miss Tackles: Saints 20; Easts 37

MATCH REPORT:

WIN, Sun 13 May 2001: The Dragons & the Roosters have come away with 1 competition point each after ex-Dragon, Craig Fitzgibbon kicked a late penalty goal to secure a 20-all draw for Easts. The Roosters' bench looked delighted with the result but not so the Saints who felt that this game was theirs for the taking. The match was see-sawing affair with both teams dominating at different times in the game. However, it was the Dragons who were finishing the stronger but they were denied a well earned win following a bizarre penalty in the dying minutes of the match. Trent Barrett was deemed to have stolen the ball after a player was called 'tackled' by ref, Steven Clark. This was despite Barrett gaining posession in a one-on-one tackle and with both players still rolling on the ground (see pic, right). The result was a penalty goal to Easts and a drawn match result.
(wav 858Kb) Click here & hear TV commentary of the event

In another incident, Saints prop forward and captain, Craig Smith has been placed on report for a head high tackle. It doesn't look good for Smithy and after being charged, it's only a matter of 'how many' weeks we will be missing his services.*
Saints started the match on the back foot and successfully defended their line for the opening minutes. They recovered to post a 10-nil lead. The Roosters came back into contention and at halftime it was anyone's game. The Roosters dominated the early part the 2nd half but it was the Dragons who were running the ball best for the majority of the match and handing out the most punishment with some bone jarring defence.
The end result, a draw was a dissapointment. The Dragons were the better team and this was evident at full time with the Roosters coach and assistant coach looking jubilant while the Dragons camp expressed the opposite emotion. However, it was a top match played in good spirit. In recent years, Saints vs Roosters clashes have proven to be highly entertaining affairs and todays match was no different.

BY THE CLOCK:
10 min: Penalty goal Riddell. Saints 2-0
18 min: Penalty goal Riddell. Saints 4-0
21 min: Try Barrett. Conversion Riddell. Saints 10-0
27 min: Try Clayton. Conversion Fitzgibbon. Saints 10-6
29 min: Penalty goal Fitzgibbon. Saints 10-8
39 min: Try Minichiello Conversion Fitzgibbon. Easts 14-10
HALF TIME
60 min: Try Peters out wide following a run of 36 metres from Craig Smith. Conversion misses from Riddell. 14-all
64 min: Try Barrett who beats 2 would-be tacklers (including Fittler) with a dummy close to the line. Conversion attempt from Riddell, well within the range of the kicker, hits upright and is a costly miss. 2nd conversion miss in a row. Saints 18-14
69 min: Try Fitzgibbon immediately following a penalty to Easts for a Craig Smith head high tackle. Conversion misses from Fitzgibbon. 18-all
73 min: Penalty goal. Duties given to Bartrim even though Riddell is still on the field. Saints 20-18
78 min: Penalty goal Fitzgibbon following controversial penalty. 20-all
FULL TIME

* Poste Script: Craig Smith was charged and then suspended for 6 weeks. This means he will miss Saints' next 5 matches and he will also miss a NZ Test match.

SOTV BEST PLAYERS:
Trent Barrett (3pts) - worked hard all day and scored 2 tries. Needs to get a few outside men working with him on those torpedo passes.
Jason Ryles (2pts) - never lost his cool and used his huge frame to great advantage, often busting the first line. All he needs now is a few supports to run off him
Craig Smith (1pt) - close to perfect before being penalised for a head high tackle which later proved very costly.
Not far away: Andrew Hart, Willie Peters, Mark Gasnier, Lance Thompson and Amos Roberts.

CROWD & MATCH PICS:




	Peters makes a break then gets the pass away to Smith
Mark Riddell in the clear	Craig Smith opens them up
Trent Barrett crosses to score	Riddell converts
Craig Smith the clear	busting tackles

Finally setting up his outside supports and a try.

Willie Peters head for the corner to score
Barrett after scoring his 2nd try
Riddell misses the conversion and a young fan in the background shows her anguish	Craig Smiths head high on Sing. This earned Smith 6 weeks on the sideline which includes Saints next 5 matches
Barrett steals the ball 3 minutes from fulltime and looks to have secured victory.	The Rooster's winger, Clayton despairs, knowing he has lost vital possession.
Barrett is penalised and can't believe it - nor can anyone else.
	Eventually shaking his head...a draw results. Saints have had another win slip from their grasp.

REF REPORT:
There's not a lot you can say about Steven Clark's performance today. The word 'hopeless' springs to mind but we have to be fair where possible. Unlike Hampstead, Clark doesn't pick on the players laying in the play the ball area and doesn't give a penalty a minute.
Unfortunately however, Clark missed forward passes galore and was also too keen to blow the whistle while play was still in momentum. The most classic example of this was in the dying moments of the match when Clark penalised Barrett for stripping the ball after the tackle was called. Blind freddy could see that the tackle was still in motion when Barrett stole the ball in a legitimate one on one tackle. The tackled player, Clayton, threw his head into his hand but was as surprised as anyone when the penalty, and a draw was given to Easts (audio file above in match report).
Without a doubt it was a poor refereeing decision which robbed the paying public of a fair result so we have no choice but to give Clark a clip on the ear.
Overall rating 1 out of 10.

PREVIOUS MATCH v KNIGHTS (RND 11)

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