‘Harlem globetrotters’: Dragons razzle dazzle Manly in NRL upset thrashing

What a difference a month has made for the Dragons, who are now a win outside the top eight after a shock upset thrashing.

The Dragons are back baby!

The St George Illawarra Dragons have clawed their way out of 15th on the ladder, claiming the side’s third win of the season with a 34-4 win over the Manly Sea Eagles.

The side have now climbed to 11th on the ladder as the Sea Eagles continue to rue the absence of Tom Trbojevic.

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While the Dragons were heavily panned after the season restart, the team has put in solid performances against the Roosters and the Raiders in losses, before breaking through with the win back at home at Netstrata Jubillee Stadium.

Another win over the hapless Bulldogs could see the Dragons on the edge of the eight in a stunning turnaround in fortunes.

It’s the opposite for the Sea Eagles, who have lost three straight games in the absence of Trbojevic, as well as eight of their last nine without their fullback star.

Zac Lomax runs away after plucking the ball out of midair.

Sea Eagles halfback Daly Cherry-Evans was heavily panned as well as Steve Roach said “not that they’ve thrown much at them (the Dragons)”.

And it doesn’t get much easier for the side with a date with the Eels next Saturday night.

But the Dragons might be the positive sign for the Sea Eagles with Fox League commentator Brenton Speed said it was good to see the Dragons playing good football again.

“Suddenly after all that doom and gloom about a month ago, will Paul McGregor keep his job and all that, suddenly they look like a team that’s all on the same page out there,” Speed said. “It’s great to see that a team can turn it around.”

On Sunday Night with Matty Johns, Tigers great Paul Sironen said it was clear that missing Trbojevic and Fonua-Blake made the side “look clunky”.

“They don’t see to have the points in them,” he said.

A month ago the @NRL_Dragons lost to the @NRL_Bulldogs. The Bulldogs.

Now they're the freakin' Harlem Globetrotters. #NRLDragonsManly

— Tim Barrow (@TheBarrow) July 12, 2020

Solid performance from Dragons. Settling on team selections, combinations & persevering with them has really made a difference. Playing with lot more confidence and cohesion. Look happy too. Terrific win. Manly missing Tom Trbojevic & Dylan Walker. Not good tonight just the same.

— PhilGould15 (@PhilGould15) July 12, 2020

The Sea Eagles scored first through Joel Thompson but from then, it was all the Dragons.

Josh Kerr bursting over from close range followed by a long distance intercept for Matt Dufty gave the Dragons the lead at the break.

The Dragons scored first in the second half after a late hit from Manly’s Jorge Taufua on Dufty led to a sin bin.

Daly Cherry-Evans trying to work out what went wrong.

“Taufua didn‘t need to do that, as the replay showed Elliott was going to get the ball,” Speed said. “He’s done the ill-disciplined thing by wiping out Dufty and costing his team a man for ten minutes at a crucial stage.”

Also in commentary for Fox League, Steve ‘Blocker’ Roach said: “Things happened so quick and you see someone with the speed of Dufty you’ve got to make a split decision.

“The ball ricochets off and then he [Dufty] is interfered with by Taufua, that puts Manly under all sorts of pressure.”

It was the last thing the Sea Eagles needed with the Dragons then blowing the Sea Eagles off the park late with three tries for a huge win.