St George Illawarra Dragons 25
Canterbury Bulldogs 6
A miracle try from St George Illawarra fullback Darius Boyd broke Canterbury's resistance as the Dragons notched a convincing 25-6 NRL victory at the SCG on Sunday.
With the Bulldogs fighting back from 15-6 down and looking certain to score a try of their own, Boyd brilliantly snatched an interceptand ran 80m to score.
The Dragons No 1 freakishly hauled in a Kris Keating pass in steady rain as the Dogs five-eighth drew and attempted to pass to his unmarked support.
Off-contract Boyd will have rival clubs even more eager for his sublime talents, although he is widely expected to follow Wayne Bennett to whichever club the master coach chooses.
The Dragons revelled in the conditions, smothering the more error-prone Bulldogs with four tries to one in front of 31,122 brave fans.
Veteran St George Illawarra centre Matt Cooper handed hobbling Canterbury star Jamal Idris a reality check, bagging a double.
Cooper outpointed his opposite number, who suffered a corked thigh, with his two tries taking his tally at the iconic venue to seven in six games.
Five-eighth Jamie Soward added four goals and a field goal.
For the Bulldogs, Corey Payne scored from a Michael Ennis grubber and Bryson Goodwin booted the conversion.
The only bad news for the Dragons was interchange forward Dean Young being placed on report for a 58th-minute lifting tackle on Dogs half Trent Hodkinson.
The match was always going to be an early season test between two contenders, with the Bulldogs left to contemplate back-to-back losses, while the Dragons are four from five.
A 9-0 halftime score befitting of heritage round had come after Cooper carried Idris over the line in the 18th minute.
Idris then spilled the ball under a Ben Creagh tackle as he was charging for the line in the 22nd minute.
Soward added a penalty goal in the 28th minute after Andrew Ryan had been pinged for an incorrect play-the-ball, and the Dragons five-eighth steered over a one-pointer as the siren sounded for the break.
Cooper went over again four minutes after the break before a Dogs comeback looked on when Payne scored in the 59th.
But two minutes later Boyd broke their spirit, and Gasnier added a late four-pointer to compound the misery.
St George Illawarra 25 (M Cooper 2 D Boyd M Gasnier tries J Soward 4 goals J Soward field goal) bt Bulldogs 6 (B Barba try B Goodwin goal) at Sydney Cricket Ground. Referee: Shayne Hayne, Gerard Sutton. Crowd: 31,122.
