Dragons Pathways Wrap: Rd 3

The Dragons’ killer start to the 2024 SG Ball Cup season continued on Saturday with a Jesse Williams hat-trick propelling the Red V to a 60-10 win over the Bears.

Their 3-0 opening to the year sees Willie Talau’s squad match their 2023 win total with six weeks of the regular season still to play.

The Dragons showed their class early on with their very first attacking play of the afternoon resulting in an 80-metre try finished off by Williams.

Fullback Tyler Peckham-Harris fielded the Bears’ clearing kick on his own 20-metre line, made a beeline between a gap in the jagged defensive line, and sent a determined Williams flying into the backfield and under the sticks for the game’s opening try.

A threatening Loko Pasifiki Tonga charge nearly breached the Bears’ line again soon after paving the way for right centre Campbell Lyons to pour through off a sound Brandon Tikinau delivery.

Zac Nachar went close to shutting down a Bears short-side raid soon after but had a looping, cut-out ball slip through his grasp and into the hands of his opposite Blake Pasfield as the hosts got on the board.

Undeterred, the Dragons answered the following set again through Lyons who was the beneficiary of a damaging Finau Latu carry.

Pasifiki Tonga’s dominant afternoon continued with the hulking front rower bursting back underneath hooker Angus Clark to burrow his way over for his first try of the season.

The visitors capped off the first half with a clever link-up between captain Shadi Hammoud and second rower Jacob Halangahu with the former sending the latter over with a nifty, left-handed flick pass to make it 28-4 heading into the break.

The Dragons found more long-range success to kick off the second stanza with Williams fielding a kick from 20 metres inside his own half and this time doing it all himself dummying and juking his way through a plethora of defenders to dive over for a phenomenal, individual try.

Clark got his name on the scoresheet soon after with a burrowing effort out of dummy-half before bruising centre David Afu found himself on the end of a handy, left-side shift to claim the Dragons’ eighth try of the afternoon.

Williams’ third came via a nice exchange of passing off an attacking scrum with Peckham-Harris again laying on the final pass for his winger.

Now with seven tries under his belt from just three games, Williams red-hot start to the year has seen him rocket atop the competition’s try-scorers list.

Peckham-Harris got himself on the board supporting off a Pasifiki Tonga carry that started from within the Dragons half as the Dragons surpassed the half-century before a crafty piece of Tikinau playmaking sent Cyrus Stanley-Traill cannoning through a gap for his second try in as many games.

Brooklyn Taumata grabbed another for the Bears late, but it proved in vain with the Dragons notching their first 50-point win since 2018.

Hammoud finished the afternoon with eight conversions to push himself to the equal-top of the competition’s point-scoring leaderboard.

Talau has been very pleased with his side's start to the season but is conscious that there is still a tonne of work to be done.

“It’s been a great start to the season,” Talau said.

“I believe our group has a really good understanding of the work that’s still ahead of us and the importance of improving from week-to-week. Our message is simple: we want to play the way we train, which is something that they are slowly starting to do more consistently.”

Shaun Timmins’ Steelers came away with a 34-12 win over the Storm at Collegians on Saturday behind a Tom Kirk triple to continue their unbeaten start to the year.

The contest’s opening points came against the run of play with left centre Hayden Buchanan coming up with a bone-rattler on his own goal-line to force the ball loose with fullback Lucas Borg picking up the breadcrumbs and racing off downfield and handing it off for Kirk to finish off what proved to be a 90-plus-metre effort.

The Storm responded soon after through lock Chase Paterson before No.9 Harrison Hill darted over under the sticks to give them the lead not long after.

Steelers skipper Daniel Meafou dragged multiple defenders over the line thanks to some powerful leg drive to score on the stroke of halftime and tie proceedings at a dozen.

The Steelers inspirational leader has now managed four-pointers in all three of the side’s clashes to start the season.

The hosts regained the lead early in the second half with Borg this time sending Kirk over in the corner off a well-run, left-side shift.

Interchange middle Isaac Laughton found himself on the scoresheet 51 minutes in slicing between defenders back behind the play-the-ball and reaching the chalk underneath the sticks.

Lyhkan King-Togia powered his way to the line off a short-side raid for the Steelers’ fifth an hour in before Kirk’s third came in near-identical fashion to his second courtesy of a left-side shift and Borg assist.

Kirk and Buchanan now both find themselves tied for second on the competition’s try-scoring leaderboard with the pair having each managed hat-tricks over the past fortnight.

TARSHA GALE CUP

It was a tough outing for the Dragons Tarsha Gale Cup squad going down to the Roosters Indigenous Academy 62-0 at Henson Park on Saturday.

Aaliyah Boland had a double in the opening eight minutes to get the visitors off to a flyer with Anabelle Ross also claiming a double in a win that keeps them at the top of the competition ladder.

The Steelers Tarsha Gale Cup side improved to 3-0 on the year taking down the Bears 50-0 at The Hills Grammar School on Saturday with a quartet of players notching multiple tries.

The scoring started early for the visitors with Australian Schoolgirls five-eighth Evie McGrath snatching the encounter’s opening points just two minutes in.

Mia-Rose Walsh continued her hot try-scoring form not long after before winger Darcy Eade grabbed a first half double in the space of just four minutes.

Not to be outdone, Walsh crashed over on the stroke of the halftime siren to grab a first half double of her own and make it 26-0 heading into the sheds.

The second stanza started in similar fashion to the first for McGrath and the Steelers with the clever No.6 crossing just three minutes in to extend the lead further before capturing her hat-trick soon after.

The scoring did not stop there however with Australian Schoolgirls centre Indie Bostock joining the try-scorers party with a double of her own disrupted only by a four-pointer to back rower Brielle Luccitti.

McGrath – who has scored a competition-high five tries from the side’s opening three wins – and Walsh – who has scored four – will look to improve on their try tallies in a week’s time when they take on the Eels at WIN Stadium.

HAROLD MATTHEWS CUP

A 28-14 win over the Bears on Saturday saw the Dragons Harold Matthews Cup squad open their account for season 2024.

Skipper Alex Futialo crashed over early to get the Red V on the board before the hosts answered via winger Siolo Tamaseu moments later.

Five-eighth Jasais Ah Kee crossed to extend the Dragons lead beyond a converted try with dynamic centre Kordell Pritchard finding his way over just shy of the break to make it 18-4.

The Bears would not go away with winger Benjamin Askew scoring and converting his own try on the other side of the half to eat into the deficit only for Dragons halfback Riley Brannock to respond with his own converted four-pointer 37 minutes in.

The back-and-forth nature of the second stanza continued with Aiden Crowley touching down for the Bears to cut the lead back to 10.

A pair of late Brannock penalty goals sealed the win for the visitors with the crafty No.7 finishing the day six-for-six from the boot to go along with a crucial four-pointer.

Fresh off a Round 2 bye, the Steelers Harold Matthews Cup outfit managed their first win of the season downing the Central Coast Roosters 20-0 at Collegians on Saturday.

Powerful front rower Leeroy Weatherall nudged his way over for the contest’s opening points before centre Phoenix Johns found his way to the line shortly after to make it an early 10-0 lead for the Steelers.

Captain Lexin O’Dea scored for the hosts later in the piece before standout No.1 Jack Talbott got his name on the scoresheet late to put the cherry on top for Jamie Szczerbanik’s Steelers.

LISA FIAOLA CUP

The Dragons’ difficult start to the Lisa Fiaola Cup season continued on Saturday with the side going down to the ladder-leading Roosters 58-0 at Henson Park.

The scoring started early for the hosts with tries to Tehillah Prasad, Tyra Dymock, Anastasia Leatupue and Ayva Papalii propelling them a 20-0 halftime lead.

Papalii ended the clash with a double along with Samurai Pati Ah-Cheung and Logan Fletcher as the Roosters marched towards their third-straight win to start the season.

The Steelers Lisa Fiaola Cup unit’s perfect start to 2024 continued with doubles to Ella Greatz and Michala Hardy propelling them to a 42-8 away win over the Bears on Saturday.

It took just three minutes for Hardy to etch her name onto the scoresheet before she was joined by skipper Tahlia O’Brien and fullback Kiara Kostovski.

Greatz crossed 23 minutes in to make it 20-to-nothing before Bears tries either side of the halftime siren cut the Steelers lead back to a dozen.

A try to No.9 Tori Shipton earnt the Steelers some extra breathing room soon after before they ran away with things courtesy of Greatz’s and Hardy’s seconds along with a try to Alysha Eti.

Having backed up a pair of narrow wins with a resounding victory over the Bears, Brad Reh’s Steelers are now one of just three teams to have gotten off to 3-0 starts in the Lisa Fiaola Cup with next weekend’s clash against the Eels another key one.

LAURIE DALEY CUP

The Illawarra South Coast Dragons' Round 3 Laurie Daley Cup clash against the Northern Rivers Titans was postponed.

ANDREW JOHNS CUP

The Illawarra South Coast Dragons' Round 3 Andrew Johns Cup clash against the Northern Rivers Titans was postponed.