Mark Gasnier of the Dragons runs the ball. Photo / Getty Images
St George Illawarra 30
Parramatta 0
Jamie Soward and Mark Gasnier made the incisions and Matt Cooper and Ben Hornby delivered the knockout blows, as St George Illawarra crushed Parramatta 30-0 in Sunday's NRL fixture at Kogarah.
The Dragons' seventh win in eight games moved them into top spot above Brisbane on for and against, while
Parramatta slumped to their fifth loss.
Renowned for dour defence-dominated play, the Dragons proved they could be pretty as well as gritty, particularly in the first half.
Halfback Hornby and centre Cooper both scored two first half tries, as the Dragons bolted to a 22-0 lead at the break.
Five-eighth Soward gave representative selectors plenty to ponder, throwing the final pass for three of the Dragons' five tries, two of which came from his line breaks.
In the centres, Gasnier and Cooper terrorised the Eels, with the former giving teenager Jacob Loko a torrid time.
Parramatta started solidly enough in the first quarter, with forwards Fuifui Moimoi and Tim Mannah making metres with determined running.
The Eels invariably finished their sets with high kicks, which the Dragons defence had little problem defusing.
Soward got the Dragons rolling with a sixth minute penalty and busted the line 12 minutes later to set up Hornby's first try.
Cooper fended off Joel Reddy to score the home team's second try three minutes later.
Gasnier then stepped around Loko and combined with Soward to send the supporting Hornby over for his second try.
Their fourth and final first-half try came from a scrum deep in Eels territory, with Gasnier setting up Cooper for his second four-pointer.
The Dragons didn't entirely cast off their cloak of conservatism with Soward kicking for goal at 22-0 five minutes into the second half.
The game went into a lull before Soward galvanised the 19,319 crowd again with another break in the 58th minute that resulted in a try for Beau Scott, though Cooper might well have completed a hat trick had his five-eighth thrown the pass to the other side.
St George Illawarra 30 (M Cooper 2 B Hornby 2 B Scott tries J Soward 5 goals) bt Parramatta 0 at WIN Jubilee Oval. Referee: Ben Cummins, Tony De Las Heras. Crowd: 19,319.
- AAP
