The St George Illawarra Dragons' post-Shane Flanagan era has commenced in disastrous fashion, as the Sydney Roosters handed them a crushing 62-16 defeat in the traditional Anzac Day clash at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.
The tumultuous week that began with Flanagan's dismissal as head coach concluded with the Red V failing to mount any significant resistance in their first match under interim successor Dean Young. The Dragons, now anchored at the bottom of the ladder, have suffered 12 consecutive losses, eight of which have come this season. This marks the worst start to a season since South Sydney's 12-game losing streak at the beginning of 2006.
First Half Carnage
Two sin-binnings, two tries directly resulting from Mat Feagai's inability to secure kicks, and a complete breakdown in defensive structure left St George Illawarra trailing 34-4 at halftime. The contest was effectively over well before the break, extinguishing any hopes of a morale boost under new coach Young.
The bloodshed continued in the second half as the Dragons conceded their second-highest score as a joint venture, surpassed only by a 70-10 loss to Melbourne 26 years ago.
Key Moments
An inability to handle adversity was a recurring theme for the home side. In the set following James Tedesco's line break through a weak Luciano Leilua tackle, which set up Sam Walker for a long-range try, Feagai spilled a Daly Cherry-Evans kick, allowing Siua Wong to score the Roosters' second try.
Leilua was subsequently sin-binned for a late, high shot on Walker, and the Tricolours capitalized by scoring two tries during his absence, extending their lead to 22-0. The Dragons leaked two more tries while Dan Atkinson was sin-binned for a professional foul, including one where Rob Toia ripped the ball directly from Feagai's grasp.
Second Half Struggles
Things did not improve after the interval. Atkinson threw a forward pass just 15 seconds into the second half. When match officials missed a clear knock-on from Connor Watson in the ruck, the Dragons' defence crumbled on the next play, allowing Reece Robson to burrow over for a try.
Leilua inexplicably kicked the ball dead after a Dragons knock-on, gifting the Roosters a seven-tackle set, which they used to go the length of the field and score through Daniel Tupou.
On debut in the Dragons' biggest game of the year, 20-year-old halfback Kade Reed toiled hard and appeared to set up the first try with a cut-out pass to Feagai. However, referee Grant Atkins spotted an earlier knock-on from Tyrell Sloan and pulled the play back, with the Dragons conceding their first try five minutes later.
In the second half, Reed fumbled a ball on the last tackle, which bounced up for Tedesco to run 85 metres and push the score past 50. Mature-age rookie Setu Tu was involved in all three of the Dragons' tries down the right side, but no teammates provided consistent attacking spark.
