Dragons seal first NRL win with 30-16 victory over Cronulla
Last Updated: 14/06/20 2:03pm
The Dragons got their first victory of the season with a 30-16 win over Cronulla on Sunday.
St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor was under pressure as the Dragons had lost all four of their games with England rugby union head coach Eddie Jones being linked to replace him this week.
However, McGregor tinkered with his team which paid dividends with their first win of the season. After being dropped last week, Matt Dufty was a late inclusion at full-back with Corey Norman partnering Adam Clune in the halves, while Ben Hunt was used at dummy-half.
Hunt made an impact when he came on after 20 minutes scoring a try and assisting two more.
However, it was the Dragons who scored first after a wonderful off-load from Josh Dugan saw debutant Mawene Hiroti go over in the fourth minute.
St George Illawarra finally scored their first try in some time when Dufty threw a long pass to winger Mikaele Ravalawa.
Zac Lomax's converted to give them the lead but the Sharks hit back almost immediately when Sione Katoa went over in the corner.
Will Kennedy, handed a reprieve at fullback after Matt Moylan was ruled out with hamstring tightness, held the defence up perfectly as he delivered the final pass.
Dufty then went over himself off the back of a six-again decision after good work from Hunt and Norman. Just before half-time, The Dragons scored their third, this time Hunt going over to score.
The Sharks had a try disallowed before Hunt sent McInnes over to give the Dragons a 14-point lead.
Cronulla hit back in the 70th minute when James Graham went over but another classy pass from Dufty sent Ravalawa over for his second to seal the win.
