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The first came in the 62nd when he knocked down a pass as the Roosters went wide. Before it hit the ground, Lomax dived, arms stretched out, and recovered the ball. Big play.
The second came in the 75th when he collared Keary and rag-dolled him into touch, another Roosters raid snuffed out. Bigger play.
When halfback Ben Hunt — the best player on the field by some stretch — drilled a 40-20 with two minutes left on the clock, the upset was complete.
It seems like an eternity since St George Illawarra last won this Anzac Day fixture.
In 2018, under then coach Paul McGregor, they were flying.
On that afternoon at Allianz Stadium, their forwards were pushing each other out of the way, such was their hunger to run the ball.
At half-time, delirious fans streamed past the old press box at Allianz Stadium towards the smelly dunnies and snaking beer lines, thumping the glass with approval.
Many of them left that night after the Dragons won 24-8 filled with dreams of a premiership. Yeah good.
Since then, it’s been a slow-moving car crash in too many ways to recount all over again but the key points are McGregor is gone and so is Allianz Stadium.
Doubts remain about Griffin, his selections, and the roster he and his football department have assembled, but there’s no doubt they’re playing for him, which couldn’t be said last season when 13 of them decided to breach COVID rules with a barbie at Paul Vaughan’s place.
That ethos was captured in the bravery of five-eighth Jack Bird, who may or may not be at the club next season given the current state of negotiations.
Jack BirdCredit:Getty
He was injured twice in the first half but refused to leave the field.
“I thought I hurt my knee and I thought I broke my arm,” he said as he left the field at half-time, smiling not grimacing, although he didn’t return in the second half.
As for the Roosters, they’ve got some issues. Don’t we all? Coach Trent Robinson has built his dynasty on the foundation of defence and St George Illawarra’s two tries would have concerned him.
The first came when prop Francis Molo hit a short ball from Hunt and he ran into a hole between Siosiua Taukeiaho and Sitili Tupouniua untouched.
The second was just as easy with centre Paul Momirovski failing to secure a Hunt kick with Dragons back-rower Jaydn Su’A the only one standing around to pick up the crumbs and score.
In attack, they remain clunky. Robinson was excited in the pre-season about Sam Walker and Keary forming a traditional halves combination, with the dominant half working in tandem with the five-eighth, but the pair often seem like strangers.
As for rugby league’s very own game of two-up — The Bunker — it had a shocker.
Roosters winger Daniel Tupou produced a textbook coat-hanger on Dragons rival Mikaele Ravalawa late in the game. There was a sniff of a send-off and given the alleged crackdown on high tackles in the last season or so you could’ve made a case for it.
Referee Adam Gee told the officials at Mission Control he thought it looked worse than it was, but replays confirmed that, yup, it was an ugly high shot.
Instead, Tupou was merely placed on report. No send-off. No sin-bin … Head ’em up, spinner!
If the Dragons lost, it would’ve been a major talking point. We’d have debated it for days. On this day, though, we get served a timely reminder, some rare perspective, and realise that it’s only a game.
Griffin can breathe easier but Tupou should be nervous about coathanger
Source: Philippines Alive
