HOW THE BIG NRL MATCH UNFOLDED
RUGBY LEAGUE: A Gareth Widdop masterclass has propelled the St George Illawarra Dragons to a dominant 54-8 victory over the Gold Coast Titans in the first ever NRL match in Toowoomba.
Clive Berghofer Stadium played host to the demolition job in front of 7297 eager fans, as the Dragons continued their unbeaten start to the season, as well as putting a dampener on Ash Taylor’s homecoming.
The Toowoomba local had an afternoon to forget despite setting up the Titans’ only try, as he conceded a pair of penalties from kick-offs, and was reported for a trip on Widdop.
A five minute period in the later stages of the first-half saw the Dragons pile on 18 unanswered points through a pair of four-pointers to Tim Lafai and a superb try to Matt Dufty.
This set up a commanding 26-8 advantage at the break for the visitors, which they went on with in the second stanza.
The Titans’ horror afternoon started in the worst possible way, with Kane Elgey dropping the kick-off, allowing Dufty to grab the first of his three tries in the second minute of play.
After a penalty goal stretched the lead out to eight, the Titans looked destined for a long afternoon, before the Dragons gifted them an opportunity to hit back.
The Titans made full use of their first full set of six inside Dragons territory, with a deft short ball from Taylor onto Michael Gordon securing their first points.
A penalty goal tied things up in the 16th minute, before Bryce Cartwright failed to pick up a tough bouncing bomb on the next set of play.
The Titans had much of the running for the next passages of play, however ill discipline saw the Dragons re-take the lead through the boot of Widdop, sparking the downfall of the Titans.
Despite the late first-half lapse, the Titans worked their way back into the contest, and had a golden opportunity with the sin-binning of Jack de Belin for a professional foul in the opening stages of the second half.
They couldn’t capitalise, and were made to pay as Nene Macdonald produced another display of awareness to beat the sideline and extend the Dragons lead beyond doubt.
The win gives the Dragons the opportunity to create more history next weekend against Newcastle, as they aim to start the year with four successive wins for the first time since the formation of the club in 1999.
The Gold Coast were left to lick their wounds after suffering their heaviest defeat against the Dragons, and will look for a sharp turnaround when they face Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium next week.