Bulldogs 24
Tigers 4
Dragons 19
Titans 6
Canterbury hooker Michael Ennis took first points in his battle with Wests Tigers skipper Robbie Farah for the NSW State of Origin No 9 jersey with two tries in the Bulldogs' scrappy NRL win at the Sydney Football Stadium.
Ennis was on the spot twice to collect kicks from Ben
Roberts and Brett Kimmorley before providing a kick for his halfback's late try as the Dogs took the first steps in getting their season back on track.
They went into the clash with only one win from their first five games.
There was little fluency in the way they went about it, but they did enough to unsettle the high-flying Tigers, whose handling was woeful as they adapted to life with new halfback Blake Lazarus.
The Dogs scored four tries to one, with fullback Luke Patten and Kimmorley adding to Ennis' double and Bryson Goodwin booting four from four.
The Tigers' sole points came from winger Lote Tuqiri, with a barnstorming 50m effort in the 59th minute.
On the Gold Coast, Titans' centre Mat Rogers' season was hanging in the balance after he went off with a medial ligament injury during his team's loss to St George Illawarra.
Currently angling for a new deal with the Titans and linked with a possible return to Cronulla in 2011, Rogers was carried from Skilled Park after Dragons five-eighth Jamie Soward fell across his leg in the 26th minute while diving for a loose ball.
Initial fears were the dual international may have suffered an injury to his left knee which could put his playing career in doubt.
Dragons halfback Jamie Soward continued to push his State of Origin claims with a brilliant second-half try, three conversions and a field goal in a dominant performance which gave St George Illawarra temporary ownership of the premiership lead.
The Dragons led 6-0 at halftime.
The victory was especially sweet for Dragons hooker Luke Priddis, who was playing his 300th NRL game.
- AAP
