Dragons Lower Grades Wrap: Round 18

The Dragons managed to hold off the Roosters 18-14 at Allianz Stadium on Sunday to secure back-to-back Knock-On Effect NSW Cup wins.

The hosts got on the board first just three minutes in courtesy of winger Tyreece Tait who sped down the right touchline and past the cover to cross.

The Dragons found a response through Dylan Egan who crashed over off a Connor Muhleisen short ball to tie things up moments later.

The visitors hit the lead a quarter of the way in through five-eighth Lyhkan King-Togia who was the beneficiary of a spilt Jonah Glover bomb.

Roosters fullback Jade Anderson raced 70 metres downfield on the other side of the break to eat into the Dragons' edge before a period in which the game was firmly in the balance.

Haele Finau hit a charging Muhleisen who powered his way over to extend the Dragons' lead beyond a converted try entering the final 10.

Despite Tait securing a double late, Muhleisen's four-pointer proved the match-winner with Ben Woolf's men holding on for a key win to keep them within touch of the Top 5.

JERSEY FLEGG CUP

The Dragons earnt a decisive, come-from-behind 34-24 win over the Roosters in their Jersey Flegg clash at Wentworth Park on Sunday afternoon.

It took just two minutes for the Red V to open the scoring through Jersey Flegg debutant Tom Kirk off a peachy Tyler Peckham-Harris cut-out.

Kirk's try-scoring form proved a continuation of what he displayed at SG Ball Cup level earlier in the year with the Steelers where he scored eight tries from seven appearances before injury resulted in an abrupt end to his campaign.

The Roosters hit back nearly immediately through centre Turoa Williams before a piece of Ashton Ward brilliance wrestled the lead back the way of the visitors.

The crafty No.7 - who took on the captaincy role in the absence of Kyan Hjaltason - caught the ball on his own side of halfway, dummied his way into the backfield, and left the fullback in the dust before outrunning a Roosters chaser.

What followed was a period of Roosters dominance with Williams grabbing a second before second rower Ethan Roberts found a try on the stroke of halftime.

Williams notched his third of the afternoon on the other side of the break as the Dragons found themselves trailing 24-10 with a half-hour to play.

A 44th-minute Toby Miller try out of acting half sparked an onslaught which saw the Red V pour on four unanswered tries in a 13-minute stretch to race towards a crucial win.

A robust Cyrus Stanley-Traill poured through a gap created by some savvy Nick Quinn ball-playing and stepped the fullback to score nearly untouched.

Finau Latu charged into space from his own 30-metre line before drawing the fullback and sending a supporting Peckham-Harris over under the sticks to put the Dragons back in front entering the final 15 minutes.

The scoring continued with Ward stepping his way through a hole on a fifth-tackle, short-side raid and moving the ball on to Nick Tsougranis who crashed over to put a bow on things and seal a 10-point Dragons win.

HARVEY NORMAN NSW WOMEN'S PREMIERSHIP

The Dragons went down to the Magpies 36-0 in their Harvey Norman NSW Women's Premiership season opener at Ringrose Park on Sunday.

Tries to Belinda Gwasamun, Carly Abbott, Hope Schuster and Danielle Seckold saw the hosts jump out to an 18-0 half-time lead before Sade Schaumkel got on the scoresheet on the other side of the break, Gwasamun grabbed a second, and Caitlin Turnbull finished things off.

The Steelers fell to defending premiers Mounties 8-4 in their season opener at Aubrey Keech Reserve on Saturday.

In what was a hard-fought affair, it took 34 minutes for the contest's first points to come through Mounties centre Breeze E'e.

Terisa Lemauga Nafatali crossed on the other side of half-time to give the hosts an eight-point edge with second rower Jordyn Preston snatching a consolation try late for the Steelers.