A final minute four-pointer proved the difference as the Dragons went down to the Eels 18-14 at WIN Stadium on Friday evening.
In what was a seesawing affair, the Dragons looked to have snatched a late win when Christian Tuipulotu scored entering the final stages only for the Eels to hit back in what proved a fiery ending.
Match: Dragons v Eels
Round 14 -
home Team
Dragons
7th Position
away Team
Eels
9th Position
Venue: WIN Stadium, Wollongong
The visitors opened the scoring through halfback Ethan Sanders who finished off an Isaac Lumelume break before converting his own try.
Morgan Harper went close to extending the Eels’ lead off an aerial invasion only for a desperate piece of Mikaele Ravalawa-led cover to hold him up over the line.
Tuipulotu found his way over the line off the next set courtesy of a Lyhkan King-Togia cut-out only for the officials to rule that the winger had spilt the ball in-goal.
The Dragons looked to have found their first a quarter of the way in only for Ravalawa’s grounding attempt to have been ruled a drop in the right corner.
Jonah Glover’s boot nearly produced a result soon after with Dan Russell skying to snatch the ball out of the air only for the back rower to lose possession short of the line.
A mistake on the other side of the break gave the hosts an early attacking opportunity with Savelio Tamale wrestling his arm loose and finding Ravalawa who burrowed his way over in the southwest corner to cut the deficit to two.
In search of his second, Ravalawa was held up over the line the following set as the Red V remained behind on the scoreboard.
Boosted by a penalty, the Eels marched down the other with Morgan Harper scoring off a Matthew Arthur grubber to earn them back an eight-point buffer.
Skipper Dan Russell responded for the Red V just shy of the hour mark with Jonah Glover piloting through the extras to cut the deficit back to just two.
A near 70-metre Savelio Tamale break from his own goal-line saw the Dragons storm back onto the attack only for a sloppy following play to put a stop to the raid.
The Dragons snagged their first lead of the evening with eight minutes to play courtesy of Tuipulotu speeding into space down the left flank off a Sione Finau draw-and-pass and bumping off the cover to slam the ball down.
Knock-On Effect NSW Cup Highlights: Round 14
The visitors managed to snatch it at the death off a short kick-off with Matt Doorey the beneficiary of a cross-field kick that looked to have caught an Eels hand on the way through.
Ravalawa was sent from the field in the aftermath of the try for dissent with the Dragons’ last-ditch attempt off the back of it falling short.
