Fiery Dragons just too hot for Taylor’s Titans
ASHLEY Taylor has endured a horror homecoming as St George Illawarra destroyed his Gold Coast side in their match at Toowoomba.
The Dragons won 54-8, with Taylor reported for tripping and twice kicking restarts out on the full in a Clive Berghofer Stadium nightmare yesterday.
The Toowoomba product was also forced to pass a concussion test at halftime as the unbeaten Dragons scored nine tries to one in the city’s first NRL game.
The Titans entered the match with the league’s worst defence after missing 82 tackles across the opening two rounds and it didn’t improve as their right edge was brutally exposed by the Dragons.
They produced the worst possible start when Kane Elgey knocked on from the kick-off, with fullback Matt Dufty crossing inside 90 seconds.
Gold Coast steadied from there though, Taylor’s short ball giving Michael Gordon his first try in Titans colours.
But the Titans let the Dragons into the game with backto-back penalties and Taylor’s errant boot as centre Tim Lafai combined with Dufty for three tries in four minutes to close the half. A professional foul from Jack de Belin and subsequent sin bin early in the second half should have given the Titans a way back in.
Instead, former Titan Nene MacDonald rubbed salt into the wounds with a try in the corner and Ben Hunt combined with halves partner Gareth Widdop to toy with Garth Brennan’s side.
The newly-formed duo did as they pleased as the Titans dropped off a staggering 45 tackles and looked lost when the Dragons spread the ball wide. Both men put in kicks to set up late tries as the Titans defence clocked off.
Meanwhile, Cooper Cronk had a hand in all seven of his side’s tries, leaving predecessor Mitchell Pearce in his wake as the Roosters thrashed Newcastle 38-8.
After walking out on his long-time NRL club after the signing of Cronk last year, Pearce’s Knights had no answers for the Roosters’ new No.7 and his partnership with Luke Keary.
The pair combined directly for no less than four tries – including what may well end the year as the try of the season off the final play of the first half.
Leading 18-8 and bringing the ball out of their own end, Cronk chipped for a flying Keary, who regathered and produced a magical flick pass as he was ankle tapped for Victor Radley to score.
The pair had earlier helped open the scoring in the sixth minute when Latrell Mitchell scored, a Cronk kick later led to a Jared Waerea-Hargreaves try, before the former Storm stalwart found a rampaging Keary who planted the Roosters’ third.
Keary later became the provider for Cronk, grubbering for him to score and put the game beyond doubt.
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