Game Summary
The St George Illawarra Dragons looked ominous in their return from the bye, defeating Newcastle Knights 32-10 at WIN Stadium on Saturday to kick off Round 10 of The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup.
St George Illawarra charged out of the blocks in the early exchanges with hooker Haele Finau darting over from dummy-half beneath the uprights, before providing the offload minutes later for five-eighth Nick Quinn to score. Winger Tom Kirk added both conversions to lead 12-0.
Toby Rumble kept the momentum going in the 14th minute when he busted through a pair of would-be tacklers for a try on the left edge.
Just before half-time the Dragons extended the lead to 22-0, this time through prop forward David Meafou steaming onto an inside ball from 20 metres out and evading the opposition fullback on his way to four points.
The home side didn’t slow down to start the second half, with Rumble making a break from his own half down the right edge and finding fullback Tyler Peckham-Harris in support for his first of two tries for the match.
After 54 minutes the Knights were on the scoresheet via lock Elijah Salesa-Leaumoana, but the Dragons hit back almost immediately when Peckham-Harris completed his double after an O’Neill kick back infield landed in his grasp from close range. Kirk converted to lead 32-4.
With 10 minutes remaining Newcastle’s Ben Peni crashed over for a consolation try, but that wasn’t going to halt a St George Illawarra outfit who had control of the contest from the opening whistle on their way to a 32-10 win.
Talking Points
Tyler Peckham-Harris starred for the home side, chalking up 246 metres from 28 carries, six tackle-busts four kick defusals along with his second-half double.
Returning halfback Joseph O’Neill was a key inclusion for the Dragons, producing two try assists, making 19 tackles and kicking for 468 metres from 14 kicks.
Key Moment
The key point in the match came with minutes to go in the first half after the Knights had managed to ease the early point-scoring. Dragons prop David Meafou, fresh off the interchange bench, came up with a barnstorming run to take his side beyond three converted tries ahead and put an end to any hopes of a Knights fightback.
What’s Next?
The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup heads to North Sydney Oval in Round 11 for the Beer, Footy, Food Festival, with the Knights facing Newtown Jets on Saturday and the Dragons taking on Parramatta Eels on Sunday.
