The Dragons’ Knock-On Effect NSW Cup finals hopes remain alive with Ben Woolf’s men securing a 30-6 win over the Bulldogs at Kogarah on Saturday evening.
Defence proved the catalyst for the Red V’s dominant victory with the Bulldogs taking over an hour to find their first and only four-pointer.
It was the young guns who sparked the Dragons' dream start with Lyhkan King-Togia and Hamish Stewart finding tries in the opening 10 minutes to open up a handy buffer.
The scoring dried up for the hosts on either side of half-time but it was their defensive desperation and early attacking flair that secured the vital pair of competition points.
Match: Dragons v Bulldogs
Round 23 -
home Team
Dragons
6th Position
away Team
Bulldogs
5th Position
Venue: Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Sydney
The Dragons drew first blood through King-Togia who put Mathew Feagai into space down the left-hand corridor before following him on his inside to score.
Jonah Glover knocked over the extras from next to the posts to make it 6-0 less than 10 minutes into the contest.
Lachlan Vale limped off early with an injury concern for the Bulldogs leaving their forward rotation light for the remainder of the game.
The hosts found another off the back of it with Stewart pouring through after being promoted into the run-on side and slamming the ball down as the lead improved to a dozen.
The Dragons’ sideline-to-sideline ball movement found some inroads midway through the opening forty with wing partners Savelio Tamale and Mikaele Ravalawa making half-breaks on back-to-back plays before an error put an end to the raid.
The Dragons extended their lead a little over a half-hour in after a period of stagnancy with Dylan Egan pouring into space down the right edge and hitting a supporting Glover back on the inside for the side’s third.
Ravalawa poured through off the corresponding kick-off to put the Red V back on the front foot before Blake Wilson was assisted from the field for the Bulldogs as their injury toll worsened.
Alec Tuitavake was denied the hosts’ fourth as the half-time siren sounded with officials ruling that he had promoted the ball.
The Dragons were dealt several defensive tests early in the second stanza but held strong on each occasion to maintain an 18-point edge.
Haele Finau looked to have slid over off an attacking scrum an hour in only for the officials to rule an obstruction in the lead-up.
The Bulldogs found their first points soon after with Eli Clark diving over the in the left corner off a scrum win and converting his own try to cut the deficit back to a dozen.
Knock-On Effect NSW Cup Highlights: Round 23
Jeral Skelton was binned late for the visitors for a dangerous tackle on King-Togia with Glover slotting a penalty goal off it to grow the lead back beyond a pair of converted tries.
Fahmy Toilalo joined Vale and Wilson in the casualty ward for the visitors with Ravalawa powering his way over in the right corner moments later to ensure the result would go the way of the Dragons.
The Fijian international found a second in the final stages storming his way through against the grain to put a bow on a comprehensive Red V win.
