STATS Parra                                   Saints

The StGeorge Illawarra pack often showed a lack of respect for their marker defence area but a quick review of the match shows that Saints were only allowed to play as well as the Eels would permit. Parra commanded proceedings early on and then ran away to a 20-nil lead. The Dragons managed to get on the board just before half time (try Blacklock) and just after halftime (try McGregor) but were decimated by a try to Lyon in the 54th minute. Saints looked set to capitulate in the 57th

minute when Hindmarsh (pic left) ran 65 metres to score but to their credit, the Dragons held their own for the final quarter of the match, keeping their line firm and registering a mere clobbering of 20 points. The dominant players in the match were Cayless, Drew, Taylor, Lyon and Hodgson, all Parra players.

There will be the inevtable questionmarks over our forward pack but the reality stands that our lads were simply over-run by a superior outfit. In summary: Barrett was heavily marked, Andrew Farrar was ambushed by Parra coach, Brian Smith. Half time: 20-6  Full time 32-12 (pic right, Nathan Blacklock breaking through)

MATCH REPORT (BY THE CLOCK): 
6 min: Try Lyon. Scores out wide. Kick through from Drew. Poor marker defence. Taylor  conversion attempt misses. Parra 4-0
19 min: Try Vaealiki. From 30m out Taylor breaks through a missed tackled from Hooper. The tryscorer dives over 5 metres in from the touchline. Conversion Taylor. Parra 10-0
24 min: Try Taylor. Under the posts. One play earlier, Craig Stapleton saves a certain try with a beaut last-ditched tackle. Unfortunately for Saints, it was to no avail as Taylor strolled through some nonexistent defence in the next play. Conversion Taylor. Parra 16-0
27 min: Try Donald. No real commitment as Saints struggle to go forward. On the last tackle, Blacklock flicks a speculator to his outside men (Blacklock being in the centres on this occasion) which is intercepted by Donald who runs 30m, unopposed to the line. Taylor's wide conversion attempt unsuccessful. Parra 20-0
39 min: Try Blacklock. Saints get some ball. From 12 m out, Barrett sends a pass to Tingha who busts through some tackles and scores under the posts. Conversion Bartrim. Parra 20-6
HALF TIME: Parramatta 20- 6
42 min: Try McGregor. Begins with hard tackle from Gasnier which dislodges ball. In the next play, Saints have an overlap McGregor runs through a gap as the defence slides. Conversion Bartrim. Parra 20-12
52 min: Penalty goal Taylor. This penalty was given when Wayne Bartrim flopped in late on a tackle. Saints were hardly done by here and the ref is being inconsistent. However, it comes after 12 minutes of sustained pressure being applied by both teams in defence. The game was really hotting up. The Parramatta decision to take the shot at goal was testimony to this and a sign that Parra were feeling the pinch. It was during this period that Saints were at their competitive best but the penalty took the wind out of their sails. Parra 22-12
54 min: Try Lyon. A sensational cross field pass from Taylor finds the chest of Lyon at full pace. This is the turning point of the match. Conversion Taylor. Parra 28-12
57 min: Try Hindmarsh. An awesome run of 65 metres from the 2nd rower and none of the Saints backs are able to reel him in. Hindmarsh did a similar thing to Saints earlier this year. It's all over...  We can't win. Conversion attempt from Taylor misses. Parra 32-12
60-80 min: The match remained scoreless for the final 20 minutes and some credit has to be given to Saints for not capitulation. The Hindmarsh try had open the flood gates but Saints somehow managed to re-group and defend their line. This was despite a run of some 60 metres from Parra fullback, Hodgson in the 72nd minute. For a moment, the Dragons were shot to bits but managed to recover.
Saints managed to put on some good plays with Gasnier and Blacklock both having a go. On retrospect, the match was won and lost in the first 38 minutes when the Eels ran away to a 20-nil lead. Take that out of the scoreline and you have a 12-all result with both teams scoring their 12 points in the space of 4 minutes respectively.
But this match wasn't decided by when the tries were scored. Parramatta were just too good and looked very much like premiership material.
Saints have plenty of work to do if they are remain as top eight contenders. Their marker defence was often atrocious and some of the forwards were hanging around the backline just a tad too much for ours.
FULLTIME: Parra 32-12

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