That’s a wrap!
That just about wraps up our live coverage of this one as the Dragons pick up their first win of the season with an impressive victory over a the Cronulla Sharks.
We’ll be back tomorrow with coverage of the remaining NRL fixtures of the round, but until then, I’ve been your host Tom Young, goodnight!
What’s next for both sides?
The Dragons will look to build on this win next weekend when they travel to the competitions bottom side the Gold Coast Titans.
The Sharks will be hoping to bounce back when they welcome the Canterbury Bulldogs, although they’ll know that they will need to perform much better if they are to get anything out of that one.
Full-time | St George Illawarra Dragons 30-16 Cronulla Sharks
The hooter sounds for full-time and it’s a HUGE win for the Dragons and Paul McGregor!
It wasn’t the most exciting of spectacles but the Dragons wont care as two tries from Ravalawa and further scores for Dufty, Hunt and McInnes were enough for the struggling St George outfit to pick up their first win of the NRL campaign and move off the foot of the table.
It’s another disappointing performance for the Sharks who failed to build upon last weeks impressive victory as they fall to a 1-4 record through the opening five weeks.
80’ | Successful conversion.
Zac Lomax wraps up a perfect night with the boot as he knocks over his fifth conversion of the night.
Dragons 30-16 Sharks
79’ | TRY Dragons
The Sharks have been throwing everything at the Dragons line in an attempt to get back into the game in the late stages but it’s the Dragons who get the last try of the contest.
Matthew Dufty - our man of the match tonight - was at the heart of it again as he fired a perfect pass over the top to Ravalawa who walks in for his second of the night.
75’
There’s been a couple of very questionable no calls in terms of forward passes for the Sharks but it won’t matter much as the Dragons look set to pick up their first two points of the season.
72'
What a hit that is! The Sharks look as though they are going to be in in the right corner but Frizell has other ideas! The second rower comes up trumps with a huge tackle and forces the knock-on as the Dragons survive!
71’
The Sharks get another penalty on the Dragons 30 as they begin to mount the pressure on the hosts.
A try here would make things very interesting...
70’
There’s no mistake from the tee for Shaun Johnson who cuts the deficit to eight with ten to go.
Dragons 24-16 Sharks.
69’ | TRY Sharks!
And that is exactly what they get.
A penalty and a set restart in quick succession see’s the Sharks with a full set of six in the Dragons 20 and they take full advantage as Wade Graham powers onto a flat pass and reaches out to touch down and give the Sharks a little bit of hope!
68’
The Dragons look comfortable here, the Sharks need something to spark them into action - and fast - if they are to get back into this one.
64’ | Successful conversion
4/4 for Lomax tonight.
A 14 point lead with 16 minutes to go. The St George fans are enjoying this one!
63’ | TRY Dragons!
Cometh the hour cometh the captain!
Cameron McInnes picks up the play the ball and bulldozes his way over under the sticks to extend the hosts lead!
They have a twelve point lead with the kick to come.
61’
The Dragons are in the ascendancy here as the force another goal line drop out.
A big 20 minutes coming up for the hosts, could they get off the mark in the competition tonight?
58’
Still no score in this second half as the Sharks nail a drop out a good 55m on the fly.
53’ | NO TRY Sharks!
The score is ruled out as the referee deems the ball has come off Connor Tracey before finding it’s way to the Sharks skipper and the Dragons survive!
A huge let off for Zac Lomax who looked as though he was attempting to pass the ball in his own in-goal!
53’ |TMO Sharks!
What has happened here?
Lomax has lost the ball in his own in goal and the Sharks capitalise through Wade Graham who touches down.
There might be a knock-on in the build up though. The TMO will have a look at this.
50’
A first half-mistake of the second half as Ravalawa spills the ball backwards.
The winger collects it but is trapped in goal by the advancing Sharks and so it’ll be a goal line drop out to come.
47’
Still very little to discuss in the early exchanges of this second half, with both sides completing their sets relatively comfortably.
43’
Steady start to the second half for both sides as the Dragons take possession on their own 40.
Back underway
The Sharks kick off and we’re back underway at the Campbelltown Sports Stadium.
Half-time | St George Illawarra Dragons 18-10 Cronulla Sharks
The half-time hooter sounds with the Dragons eight points to the good as they lead the Sharks 18-10.
They fell behind early as Hiroti opened the scoring after just four minutes before responding through Mikaele Ravalawa eight minutes later.
The Sharks retook the lead through Simone Katoa after 20 minutes but again the Dragons responded through tries from Dufty and Hunt to leave the hosts in a great position to pick up their first two points of the season.
It’s all to play for in the second half. Stay tuned!
39’ | Successful conversion
Zac Lomax doesn’t miss those!
He turns four points into six as the hooter goes for half-time with the Dragons leading by eight!
39’ | TRY Dragons!
But overturn it he does!
The Bunker rules that Hunt maintained possession and overturns the on-field decision to award the four pointer!
How valuable could that call be to the Dragons and Paul McGregor?!
39’ | TMO Sharks
Ben Hunt reaches out to touch down for the Dragons but the referee isn’t convinced he’s retained position and sends it up to the Bunker as a no try.
It looks harsh but it’ll be tough for the Bunker to find evidence to overturn this.
38’
The Dragons have a good set with ball in hand, boosted by an early break by Dufty, and they’ll have a repeat set here as the Sharks knock-on on the fifth.
Dragons head and feed on the Sharks 10 with 90 seconds until half time.
35’
Josh Duggan was the provider for the first try but he cant handle the ball this time, knocking on as the Dragons survive!
34’
And as I say that Ravalawa puts down the high ball on the fifth to give the Sharks the head and feed on the hosts 10.
A great opportunity for the visitors to retake the lead shortly before halftime.
32’
This has been a much better performance from the Dragons thus far as they look for their first two points of the season.
It’s only a slender two-point advantage though so it’s all to play for here at the Campbelltown Stadium.
30’ | Successful conversion
Lomax makes it two from two from the tee to give the hosts a slender advantage.
Dragons 12-10 Sharks
28’ | TRY Dragons
The Dragons respond!
They are the beneficiary of a 50/50 call earlier in the set after Euan Aitken looked to have knocked on but the referee deemed it a strip in the tackle as the tackle count was reset and the hosts took full advantage.
There was the overlap on the right hand side as Matthew Dufty shaped for the pass before sporting a gap and forcing his way over.
Kick to come.
27’
Handbags here as Adam Clune is caught late as he kicks on the fifth.
The Sharks are handed a penalty right in front of the upright.
26’ | NO TRY Sharks!
And I was wrong!
Jack Williams’ dummy run clearly impedes the Dragons defence and the score is chalked off.
26’ | TMO Sharks
The Sharks look to have extended their advantage here but the referee will send it up to the TMO to have a quick check on obstruction.
Looks good to me.
25’
The Sharks are gaining momentum here and they force a repeat set as Matthew Dufty is forced to knock Johnsons probing grubber dead.
23’ | Successful conversion
It’s another touchline conversion for Johnson but it’s on his favoured right side and he makes no mistake this time to give the Sharks a four-point lead.
Dragons 4-10 Sharks.
22’ | TRY Sharks!
The Sharks retake the lead.
It’s the most simple of tries as the Sharks have the head and feed at the scrum and on the first they work the ball from left to right as William Kennedy finds Simone Katoa on the overlap, giving the winger the simple task of running the ball in unopposed.
Kick to come.
19’
But they can’t turn position into points as Corey Normans grubber is way to strong as goes dead to hand the Sharks a seven-tackle set.
They follow that up by giving away a penalty for offside as the Sharks will start their set on halfway.
18’
The Dragons have their tails up as they get another set restart on the Sharks 30.
15’ | Successful conversion
It looked a tricky conversion but Lomax has had a great season from the tee so far and he makes it 9/10 for the season with a touchline conversion to give the hosts the lead.
Dragons 6-0 Sharks.
14’ | TRY Dragons!
After 86-days, the drought is over!
They benefited from another set restart, working their way over to Mikaele Ravalawa on the right flank and the big Fijian powered his way over the line for his first try since round one.
Touchline conversion attempt to come for Zac Lomax.
12’
The Dragons will have a set in the Sharks half as Shaun Johnson knocks on just shy of halfway.
10’
How will the Dragons respond here?
They’d looked in control through the opening ten but once again they trail early.
8’ | Missed conversion
Shaun Johnson drags his conversion attempt across the face of the upright.
The Sharks lead 4-0 early here.
6’ | TRY Sharks
How cruel is that.
After having their opening try chalked off, the Dragons fall behind as the Mawene Hiroti gets over for the opening try of the contest.
It came on the back of a great offload from Josh Duggan who put it on a plate for Hiroti to dive over in the corner.
Difficult kick to come.
6’
And now its the Sharks turn to have a first look at the Dragons line as they get a set restart in the hosts 10.
4’ | NO TRY Dragons!
The Bunker agrees with the referee, citing Zac Lomax as the culprit as he obstructed the Sharks defence.
The drought goes on for the hosts!
4’ | TMO Dragons!
The Dragons have scored their first try in over three hours of action... or have they?
It’s sent up as no try for obstruction. The Bunker will have a look at this.
4’
William Kennedy knocks the ball on on the Sharks 10 and the Dragons will have the first chance to open the scoring here.
Kick-off
And we’re underway!
Bulldogs forward Aiden Tolman cleared of COVID-19
The game was postponed after it was revealed that Aiden Tolman was at risk of COVID-19 after it was revealed one of Tolman’s children attends a school in the Sutherland Shire where a staff member has tested positive for COVID-19.
The school has closed until June 25 and students have been told to self-isolate.
Tolman has since been cleared of COVID-19 but the NRL have decision to postpone Sunday’s game at the Bankwest until Monday remains.
Five-minutes to kick-off!
There’s just five minutes until kick-off in this one, which has been brought forward due to the postponement of the Bulldogs and Roosters match, after that was put back 24 hours due to a biosecurity risk.
How to watch St George Illawarra Dragons vs Cronulla Sharks Live TV and Stream
If you want to watch the game on TV, your options are: Sky Sports Main Event / Sky Sports Arena
If you want to directly stream it: Sky Go
If you want to follow it on the internet, VAVEL UK is your best option!
Sharks Team News
Starting 13: Kennedy, Katoa, Dugan, Ramien, Hiroti, Johnson, Townsend, Fifita, Brailey, Woods, Nikora, Graham, Williams.
Interchanges: Tracey, Hamlin-Uele, Rudolf, Sorensen.
Unavailable: Cameron King, Bronson Xerri, Ronaldo Mulitalo, Matt Moylan.
Former NSW Origin Prop Andrew Fifita has been named in the starting line-up following a calf injury while Chad Townsend has also been named in the halves with Matt Moylan pulling out 24 hours before kick-off with a tight hamstring and he joins Ronaldo Mulitalo on the sidelines with Mawene Hiroti taking his place on the Wing.
Dragons Team News
Starting 13: Norman, Pereira, Aitken, Lomax, Ravalawa, Hunt, Clune, Kerr, Mclnnes, Vaughan, Frizell, Fuimaono, Graham.
Interchanges: Merrin, Lawrie, Dufty, Host.
Unavailable: Jack De Belin, Tim Lafai, Brayden Williame, Tariq Sims.
The Dragons suffered a double injury blow last week that will see Williame and Sims sidelined with their places in the 17 taken up by Fuimaono and Dufty while Isaac Luke left the club last week to join the Brisbane Broncos with Jacob Host taking his place on the bench.
The Sharks set to kick on?
The Sharks themselves haven’t started the season too brightly, but they did pick up their first win of the NRL campaign against the Cowboys last time out.
It was a to-and-fro game that the Sharks came out on the right end of as Jesse Ramien’s double inspired them to victory against the North Queensland outfit.
Their defence was questionable at times though, particularly from the restart, so they’ll look to improve that tonight.
A must-win for the struggling Dragons
The Dragons come into this one having started the season with four consecutive defeats as the pressure begins to crank up on Head coach Paul McGregor.
Scoring points has been a big issue for the Dragons so far this campaign, averaging just 11 points per match.
They know they’ll have to be much more efficient with ball in hand if they are going to pick up the two points against the Sharks, who have shipped just 78 points this season.
Kick-off time
The Dragons vs Sharks encounter will be played at the Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney, Australia. The kick-off time is 9.30am (BST) 6.30am (AST).
Welcome to VAVEL.com’s LIVE coverage of this 2020 NRL match between the St George Illawarra Dragons and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks!
My name is Tom Young and I’ll be your host for this game. We will provide you with pre-game analysis, roster updates and news as it happens live here on VAVEL.