Wests Tigers suffered a heart breaking 13-12 loss to St George-Illawarra Dragons at the Sydney Cricket Ground today in round six of the Telstra Premiership.
A late field goal from Dragons five-eighth Jamie Soward sealed the victory after Wests Tigers fought back from a 12-0 deficit to level the scores.
A crowd of 21,844 witnessed the Men of League Heritage Round clash on a day that marked the 50th anniversary of the 1963 Grand Final between Western Suburbs Magpies and St George Dragons.
Wests Tigers Coach Mick Potter promoted Sauaso Sue and Shaun Spence to the team to make their NRL debuts off the interchange bench.
The game also marked the 150th career match for Wests Tigers back-rower Adam Blair.
Wests Tigers were denied a try in the 7th minute to five-eighth Curtis Sironen after the video referees ruled that prop Aaron Woods had taken out Dragons prop Dan Hunt after running through as a decoy from a Robbie Farah cut out pass.
A break by Farah in the 11th minute saw the final pass to centre Chris Lawrence go astray just metres from the tryline.
St George-Illawarra prop Jack Stockwell lost the ball in trying to get across the line in a desperate tackle made by Farah in the 13th minute.
Ben Murdoch Masila left the field and headed straight to the change rooms after suffering a facial injury in the 15th minute.
The Dragons opened the scoring in the 29th minute when winger Daniel Vidot picked up a loose cut out pass from five-eighth Jamie Soward to dive over in the right corner to score for a 4-0 lead. Soward failed to convert from the sideline.
Lawrence dropped the ball over the line in the 37th minute after the ball was knocked out of his arms by full-back Jason Nightingale.
A minute later, a crossfield kick by Soward saw Vidot leap high above Moltzen on the wing. The ball was knocked back by Vidot into the arms of half-back Braith Anasta before the ball was fumbled in-goal for Dragons second-rower Tyson Frizell to plant his hands on the ball. It was ruled no try.
2nd Half
The Dragons went to an 8-0 lead in the 49th minute when winger Brett Morris pounced on a Soward grubber kick. Soward failed to convert the try from the sideline.
The visitors took a 12-0 lead in the 57th minute when Soward was allowed to run acrossfield to link up with centre Chase Stanley who offloaded to fellow centre Matt Cooper to score. Soward failed to convert the try.
Wests Tigers got on the scoreboard in the 65th minute when Murdoch-Masila, having overcome a facial injury concern in the first half, barged through three defenders from close range to score next to the posts. Half-back Braith Anasta converted for a 12-6 scoreline.
Two minutes later, Wests Tigers were in again through Moltzen who scored untouched near the posts after Anasta produced an inside ball for Tedesco to find open space before linking up with Moltzen to score. Anasta converted the try for a 12-all scoreline.
A minute later, centre Blake Ayshford split the defenced and stepped inside and looked set to score or link up with his support men before Vidot threw an arm out, resulting in Ayshford spilling the ball 15 metres from the tryline.
Anasta left the field in the 73rd minute with a leg injury.
A drop ball by Murdoch-Masila in the 75th minute gave the Dragons a scrum feed on the half-way line with four minutes remaining. Soward landed the field goal in the 77th minute from in front of the posts for a 13-12 lead.
The loss leaves Wests Tigers on 4 points from two wins in six matches.
A late field goal from Dragons five-eighth Jamie Soward sealed the victory after Wests Tigers fought back from a 12-0 deficit to level the scores.
A crowd of 21,844 witnessed the Men of League Heritage Round clash on a day that marked the 50th anniversary of the 1963 Grand Final between Western Suburbs Magpies and St George Dragons.
Wests Tigers Coach Mick Potter promoted Sauaso Sue and Shaun Spence to the team to make their NRL debuts off the interchange bench.
The game also marked the 150th career match for Wests Tigers back-rower Adam Blair.
Wests Tigers were denied a try in the 7th minute to five-eighth Curtis Sironen after the video referees ruled that prop Aaron Woods had taken out Dragons prop Dan Hunt after running through as a decoy from a Robbie Farah cut out pass.
A break by Farah in the 11th minute saw the final pass to centre Chris Lawrence go astray just metres from the tryline.
St George-Illawarra prop Jack Stockwell lost the ball in trying to get across the line in a desperate tackle made by Farah in the 13th minute.
Ben Murdoch Masila left the field and headed straight to the change rooms after suffering a facial injury in the 15th minute.
The Dragons opened the scoring in the 29th minute when winger Daniel Vidot picked up a loose cut out pass from five-eighth Jamie Soward to dive over in the right corner to score for a 4-0 lead. Soward failed to convert from the sideline.
Lawrence dropped the ball over the line in the 37th minute after the ball was knocked out of his arms by full-back Jason Nightingale.
A minute later, a crossfield kick by Soward saw Vidot leap high above Moltzen on the wing. The ball was knocked back by Vidot into the arms of half-back Braith Anasta before the ball was fumbled in-goal for Dragons second-rower Tyson Frizell to plant his hands on the ball. It was ruled no try.
2nd Half
The Dragons went to an 8-0 lead in the 49th minute when winger Brett Morris pounced on a Soward grubber kick. Soward failed to convert the try from the sideline.
The visitors took a 12-0 lead in the 57th minute when Soward was allowed to run acrossfield to link up with centre Chase Stanley who offloaded to fellow centre Matt Cooper to score. Soward failed to convert the try.
Wests Tigers got on the scoreboard in the 65th minute when Murdoch-Masila, having overcome a facial injury concern in the first half, barged through three defenders from close range to score next to the posts. Half-back Braith Anasta converted for a 12-6 scoreline.
Two minutes later, Wests Tigers were in again through Moltzen who scored untouched near the posts after Anasta produced an inside ball for Tedesco to find open space before linking up with Moltzen to score. Anasta converted the try for a 12-all scoreline.
A minute later, centre Blake Ayshford split the defenced and stepped inside and looked set to score or link up with his support men before Vidot threw an arm out, resulting in Ayshford spilling the ball 15 metres from the tryline.
Anasta left the field in the 73rd minute with a leg injury.
A drop ball by Murdoch-Masila in the 75th minute gave the Dragons a scrum feed on the half-way line with four minutes remaining. Soward landed the field goal in the 77th minute from in front of the posts for a 13-12 lead.
The loss leaves Wests Tigers on 4 points from two wins in six matches.
