Saints v C'Bury Rnd 25 (2000)

Round 25
Sunday, 23 July
2.30 pm
Saints v
Canterbury
Venue: Stadium Aust
Homebush
Saints on TV 2000

Match Preview
& Team

Match
Report & Results

TV / Video Capture

This Weeks

Sound File

Scrapbook

Referee Rating

PREVIEW: The injury list for the Dragons gets worse with every week. It's been confirmed that Shaun Timmins (knee) is out for 2000 and the latest casualty is Lee Murphy (cheek) who is also out for the season. After having a quick look at the full injury list for all teams, it's not surprising to see that the teams with the most injuries make up the lower part of the ladder. The Dragon's can claim first place here with enough season injuries to fill a paperback novel.
It goes without saying that the teams near the top of the ladder are those which have 'proven their fitness' in 2000.
This in an issue which will have to be addressed by the Dragons in 2001.
However, there may be 'wider issues' for the NRL by 2002.

This week's game should be a cracker. Dragons v Canterbury matches are almost always great to watch. Saints still harbour some hope of making semis if they can win the next 2 games. The competition for 8th spot comes from Cronulla and Wests who are 2 points in front of us. If Cronulla lose both their upcoming matches and Wests lose at least one match, then we have a chance. All this means nothing if we can't beat Canterbury on Sunday.
Saints have recalled 1st division exiles, Luke Patten and Luke Branighan. As well, Darren Treacy has been named on the bench, missing last week after reportedly coming off second best following an altercation with a lawn mower of all things.
Jason Hooper and Lee Hookey are in the centres. Hookey being placed there for Murphy.
Luke Patten is at fullback and Amos Roberts moves to the wing.
Although the centres still look vulnerable, I think this latest backline venture is a better proposition than what we saw against the Broncos last weekend. It wouldn't surprise me to see Hookey do even more damage now that he is in-field, as long as he can get past the head-butting, Willie Talau.
The forwards are looking pretty solid and I can see them getting on top from the outset. We can look forward to the square-ups as Smith, Bailey, Lamey and Hart run head-on into Britt, Hetherington, Reardon and Clyde.
The ref is Steve Clark who we have 2-1 win record with this season. Saints have to watch the penalties with Halligan able to kick them from anywhere.
The Bulldogs have won all head to head matches against the Dragons since 1996 and the last time these two teams met in round 3 we got hammered 24-nil - meaning that we came one game closer to beating these inlanders who hang out west of Kingsgrove. I think it's time to even the ledger.
Saints by 24.

FOOTY TAB:
Saints: 1.5 start

ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS TEAMS CANTERBURY BULLDOGS

REF: Steven Clark

Luke Patten Nathan Blacklock Jason Hooper Lee Hookey Amos Roberts Trent Barrett Luke Branighan Luke Bailey Nathan Brown(c) Craig Smith(c) Terry Lamey Andrew Hart Wayne Bartrim Res:

Darren Treacy Jason Ryles Justin Smith Wes Patten

1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Res: 14 15 16 17

Hazem El Masri Gavin Lester Darren Smith Willie Talau Daryl Halligan Brent Sherwin Corey Hughes Darren Britt Jason Hetherington Dennis Scott Steve Reardon Bradley Clyde Glen Hughes Res: Craig Polla-Mounter J. Feeney W. Mason A. Peek

Teams subject to late changes
One change only to the card: Darren Treacy out, Robbie Simpson in.
TV TEAMS:

FULLTIME SCORE: Saints 28 - Canterbury 10
Match Conditions: Clear and dry
Attendance: 21,609
MATCH REPORT:
SAINTS SCORE SIX TRIES TO ONE
ANNIHILATING CANTERBURY 28 - 10 The Dragons played one of their best games of the year to crush the Bulldogs who were flattered by a scoreline that only saw them lose by a mere 18 points. It was the first time that StGeorge- Illawarra have beaten the Bulldogs.
Saints bombed a number of tries and had another disallowed. The game was in the balance when Barto missed a couple of sitters and Halligan was typically keeping Canterbury in the match with his boot.
At half time it was 8-all and early in the 2nd half it was 14 - 10 to the Dragons who by all intents and purposes were carving up the opposition only to be 4 points in front.
Saints can thank the relentless determination of Nathan Brown who was constantly probing up the middle and was by far the best player on the paddock. On the back of his efforts, the likes of Hooper, Bailey, Barrett, Luke Patten, Branighan and Blacklock came to the fore and when so many players are playing so good it came as no surprise that the Dragons were able to run away with it in the last quarter of the match. Branighan and Patten showed us what we can expect to be coming back at us next season as both players put in a top notch performances. Craig Smith once again showed everyone that he is the hit up king.
The final try of the match, set up by a trademark inside flick pass from Lee Hookey saw star of stage and screen, Wes Patten score what was a popular try.
Bartrim came off with what looked liked a shoulder injury and dual try scorer, Blacklock was called on to convert the late tries and more points went begging.
However, at the end of the day, Saints held onto possession and denied the home team a look in. No 'superboot' Halligan could save the Bulldogs today. It was great to watch Saints win by using their attack to wipe out the opposition.
UNFORTUNATELY, the news is that Cronulla won and that means that the Dragons have run their race for 2000.
On the for and against ratio, Saints have rated poorly this year. The Tigers were beaten today (one of the few teams who Saints have a superior ratio over) but we really needed Cronulla to lose as well.
I'm sure that there is some 'mathematical' way out of this...Cronulla to lose by a zillion points next week for Saints to stand a chance. Pathetically, we hold out hope.
The reality is that Saints will not be a force in the semis for 2000 and we have to now look forward to 2001.
We may desperate but we are far from the worse tippers in the comp. Ex-StGeorge coach, Roy Masters tipped in his Sun Herald Column today that Saints' inept defence would probably lead to the biggest scoreline of the year. Get stuffed Roy.

Saints Best
3- Brown , 2- Blacklock, 1- Barrett

Scorers:
ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA 28 (N Blacklock 2, J Hooper 2, T Barrett, W Patten tries; W Bartrim 1/4, N Blacklock 1/3 goals) beat BULLDOGS 10 (G Lester try; D Halligan 3/3 goals) at the Olympic Stadium.

Stats:
Possession: Saints 61% - Bulldogs 31%
Completions: Saints 80% - Bulldogs 77%
Handling Errors: Saints 9 - Bulldogs 8
Line Breaks: Saints 12 - Bulldogs 2
Offloads: Saints 24 - Bulldogs 17
Missed tackles: Saints 10 - Bulldogs 37
Forced line drop outs: Saints 0 - Bulldogs 8 (5 in the 1st 15 minutes)

Brown put in an early grubber kick and trapped Halligan in the in-goal. For the next 10 minutes, Saints continued the same tactic and ran the Bulldogs dry. Brownie's kicking game was excellent today.	We certainly had our opportunities but 4 missed conversions, one missed penalty goal and Halligan's boot kept the Dragons honest up until the last quarter.
Tingha in the clear
	Blacklock goes further ahead as the NRLs leading try scorer

Barrett scores Saints' 2nd try in the 27th minute after some lead up (kick) from Brown. Today, Brown and Barrett communicated perfectly.
Saints follow up with Amos Roberts making a break when returning the ball	Justin Smith gets in on the act

Saints surround El-Masri in a chase that was typical of the match

Half Time Score 8-all

Craig Smith offloads to Barto

Wayne Bartrim improves on Smithy's work

Trent Barrett put into a gap by Nathan Brown	Brown backs up and the cover is about to close in
Brownie stops dead in his tracks and sees Hooper out wide	Jason Hooper collects the pass and runs
Hooper scores in the corner	Barto sweeps the sand mound to kick his only goal of the day - from the sideline.

Andrew Hart is into space but chooses not to pass to Blacklock (out of frame)	The other support, Barrett is cleaned up by a Canterbury 'defender'
For the 2nd week running, Nathan Brown holds out the potential try scorer.

Luke Branighan in the clear
Luke Patten impresses his future team mates	It's Nathan Brown again...carving 'em up

NATHAN BLACKLOCK...TRY SCORING MACHINE

backing up - up the middle	tryline bound
Unstoppable	Tingha gently touches down for try number 23 for 2000 In three seasons, he has notched up 67 tries, so far. This year, Nathan Blacklock is 5 tries clear of 2nd place. If he becomes the NRLs top try scorer (a certainty) he will be the 2nd man in RL history to be top try scorer for 2 years running...The legendary Ken Irvine being the other.

Late in the match, the backs are running riot Luke Patten in full flight	Jason Hooper gets his 2nd try...

Man of the match, Nathan Brown looks on as Lee Hookey and Wes Patten combine for Saints' sixth try...	Hookey leaving Talau in his wake
Wes on his way to the line

FULL TIME

THIS WEEKS SOUND FILE
NB: Some browsers may have plugs-in which conflict with sound file downloads.
The best way to download sound files is to right-click on the speaker and use the 'save link as' (or 'save target as') option, saving the file to your desktop or folder of choice.
If you continue to experience difficulties, please let us know. email the webmaster

Click on the speaker to hear
Nathan Blacklock score another try !

231 Kb .WAV file

SCRAP BOOK

Monday, July 24, 2000 - Sydney Morning Herald - Article by Roy's ghost-writer

Departing Bulldogs leave home on a losing note

By ROY MASTERS

DRAGONS 28
BULLDOGS 10

The Bulldogs' biggest home crowd of the season farewelled four of
their veterans yesterday but failed to inspire the side to victory.

                 The Dogs play their last game of the season against Newcastle at
                 Marathon Stadium on Sunday, while the Dragons will have their final
                 run for 2000 against Parramatta at the Sydney Football Stadium on
                 Saturday night. St George Illawarra can make the finals only if they
                 win by 217 points and the Sharks lose to Penrith.

                 The Olympic stadium welcomed 21,609 fans yesterday to cheer a
                 contest far removed from the low scorelines of the 1980s, when these
                 teams eked out ugly wins.

                 Perhaps it was the rare local derby - the Bulldogs' first home game
                 against the Dragons since 1996 - or the opportunity to farewell Jason
                 Hetherington, Bradley Clyde, Ricky Stuart and Daryl Halligan which
                 drew the home fans, but it was the Dragons' day.

                 Both coaches admitted the weight of possession the Dragons enjoyed
                 in the first 25 minutes took its toll, with the agile Nathan Blacklock
                 and the speedy Jason Hooper each scoring two tries.

                 Dragons five-eighth Trent Barrett was the architect of the first four
                 tries, throwing a cut-out pass in the 16th minute for Blacklock's first,
                 and retrieving a grubber kick to cross himself in the 27th minute.

                 The Bulldogs levelled the scores 8-8 at half-time via Halligan goals and
                 their sole try, to Gavin Lester in the 32nd minute, after replacement
                 Craig Polla-Mounter had sent Steve Reardon into a yawning chasm to
                 link with fellow forward Dennis Scott, who sent the winger on his way.

                 Early in the second half, Barrett made a break on halfway and found
                 his captain, hooker Nathan Brown, who sent a long ball for Hooper to
                 cross in the corner.

                 Ten minutes from time, Barrett fed second-rower Andrew Hart, who
                 found Luke Patten. The fullback released Blacklock, who teased the
                 defence with the ball in the in-goal before forcing it.

Halfback Luke Branighan sent a neat pass for Hooper's second try, and
replacement Wes Patten completed the scoring.

Halligan will be glad he has another game to play. The record
point-scorer's last kick went out on the full.

REFEREE & TOUCH JUDGES & VID REF

REFEREE: Steven Clark

Total Referee or Touch Judge errors = 6
Errors in favour of Saints = 1
Errors in favour of Canterbury = 5
Penalty Count: Saints 2 - Canterbury 4
Comments: Steven Clark had a pretty good day and waited a good 20 minutes before he gave a penalty.
We had a few frustrating moments when he allowed a tired Canterbury defence to wander offside. As the match went on, Canterbury were also guilty of a number of late 2nd tackles. The ref seemed to be taking into account the massive weight of possession in favour of the Dragons. However, these were minor incidents which don't rate as 'blatant errors'.
For the majority of the first half, both teams played hard but fair and the ref had the match well under control. However, as the game went on. Canterbury were being outplayed and number of their more experienced players were doing it tough. A lot of these players come from the Terry Lamb School of Football Embellishments and it was no surprise that many of the infringements happened in the middle part of the 2nd half as the older players played their dog-eared cards to the hilt.
The first major error occurred when the ref and touchie missed a blatant headhigh on Blacklock just before half time when Saints looked set to score (Error in favour of C'Bury).
In the 51st minute, the ref, touch judges and commentators missed a support player, Barrett being blatantly taken out while Hart made a bust off a Barrett pass. Hart looked outside and saw Blacklock and should have passed it then because when he looked again, Blacklock had run past and Barrett was gone.
The try went begging (Error in favour of C'Bury).
The ref also blew it when he ruled a knock on against Nathan Brown in the 55th minute (Error in favour of C'Bury).
The ref's 'clamp down' on infringements in the play the ball area seem to be last months news when, in the 56th minute, the ref allowed Ryles to get away with a sloppy play the ball (this is something which young Jason has been pinged for a couple of times this season). Ryles kicked the ball forward then stepped over it. It was play on despite Canterbury being penalised for a similar infringement in the first half (Error in favour of StGeo).
The touch judge made a pathetic error in the 57th minute when Hooper kicked down the left flank and effectively gained a 40/20 when the ball bounced inside the 20 metre line. This should have been a Saints scrum feed. The touchie and ref didn't agree and Canterbury fed the scrum despite the ref setting it on the 20 metre line (Error in favour of C'Bury).
In the 58th minute, Halligan played the man and shoulder charged a flying Amos Roberts who was always going to win the race to a ball kicked into the in goal. Instead, Amos is checked by the much slower Halligan and robbed a try. The ref and touchie let it go. (Error in favour of C'Bury).

Mostly, Clark got things right and I have to say that hardly noticed him for the whole match.
He may be the best ref in the comp.
That's why he gets a better than average rating.

Overall rating: 8 / 10

Email

WANT TO LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK?
YOUR UNCENSORED MATCH SUMMARY OR REVIEW OR COMMENTARY CAN BE PUBLISHED IN OUR SUPPORTERS LETTERS PAGE ->GO FOR IT!!
To email your opinion click here