Match Details
Match Date	31st May, 2013
Opponent	St George Illawarra
Result	Win 16-14
Coach	Des Hasler
Captain	Michael Ennis
Venue	Homebush (ANZ Stadium)
Crowd	22,958
Referee	Jared Maxwell Phil Haines

A match that failed to reach any great heights for the most part sure had a dramatic kick to it. Unfortunately for Jamie Soward, it wasn’t his best kick. The Dragons five-eighth had the chance to force the match into golden-point extra time, yet his penalty attempt from 35 metres out, and just over 10 metres inside the eastern sideline, sailed past the left hand upright, allowing the Bulldogs to breathe a heavy sigh of relief.

It was quite an effort for the Dragons to get as close as they did. Really, they had no right. The Bulldogs were the better side for most of the night but still always looked to be going through the motions.

The Dragons were never in it until the final moments, yet it still might still have a bitter aftertaste for the Bulldogs. They did enough to win but not a great deal more, and they will be hoping desperately they don’t lose Ben Barba, who was placed on report for use of his knees in a challenge that resulted in an eight-point try.

St George Illawarra five-eighth Jamie Soward had slid over for the score, after which Barba made late contact with the Dragons player with his knees. He will come under some scrutiny by the match review committee.

Both sides had lost two players to State of Origin. But the Bulldogs had the added problem of their five-eighth Josh Reynolds, who was only being a confirmed non-starter for Friday night’s contest at 4pm on match eve. The Bulldogs took a while to get going, but when they did, they took their chances.

The first half had very few of them. The Dragons went closest in the early stages of the match, but the Bulldogs posted the first try, after 25 minutes, when centre Tim Lafai scored. The Dragons complained about a possible obstruction by second-rower Frank Pritchard on Tyson Frizell, to no avail.

Dragons forward Leeson Ah Mau put more pressure on his side when he was placed on report for a high shot on Bulldogs front rower Aiden Tolman, and two minutes later Joel Romelo – who replaced Reynolds in the starting side – kicked for winger Drury Low, who batted the ball back inside superbly to give Lafai his second.

The Bulldogs appeared to have well and truly clicked by this stage. Yet an error by Josh Jackson and Barba’s ill-discipline allowed the Dragons to get within four points through one play. Jackson lost the ball coming out of his quarter, Dragons centre Matt Prior flung it between his legs tunnel ball-style, and Soward slid in. Barba’s challenge was so late his freshly shaved hair could have grown back a grade by the time he made contact. He was punished and Soward made him pay, converting from the sideline and then from in front.

Ultimately, while it might have some ramifications for Barba, the eight-point try hardly affected the Bulldogs’ momentum. They were denied when Barba threw a forward pass to Low, but they had success over the other side of the field. Centre Mitch Brown’s flick found winger Sam Perrett, who scored.

The Dragons could not make up the ground on the scoreboard – largely because they could not make up the ground on the ground. Without Dan Hunt, who had a minor knee injury, and Trent Merrin, in NSW camp, they struggled to put themselves in a position to score. They finally did so too late, when Prior crossed with six minutes remaining. Their tempo lifted significantly after that try, raising the question of where it had been earlier. Nathan Fien’s limp kick, swallowed up by Pritchard, looked to have ended their late rally. But fullback Josh Dugan was taken out by Pritchard after kicking, and, after Barba ran 70 metres to plant the ball for an apparent match sealing try, the play was called back. Soward stepped up, but could not convert when it counted.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

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