Tigers ‘snatch defeat from the jaws of victory’ in diabolical loss to the Dragons – which may see them finish disastrous year with the wooden spoon
- Dragons have miraculously held on to a scrappy win over bottom dweller Tigers
- Zac Lomax slotted a 79th minute penalty to secure the scrappy two-point win
- Wests botched a 10-point lead and are destined for the wooden spoon
- St George scored a late try to level the score, before adding a late penalty
The Dragons have managed to top the bottom of the table Tigers in a shocking display of Sunday afternoon rugby league – doing near everything in their power to keep the wooden spooners alive.
St George Illawarra held on through a 75th minute try to interchange Jackson Ford, snatching a 24-22 win in an 80 minute performance not quite worthy of two points.
Zac Lomax iced the lead, converting a tough penalty from a shoulder to the head, curving back the kick to secure the 11th victory for coach Anthony Griffin.
St George have pulled off a miraculous comeback to defeat Wests 24-22 on Sunday
‘I can’t believe what I have just seen,’ Warren Smith said on Fox League.
‘That sums up their season.’
Responding from last week’s club-record 72-6 hands loss at the hands of the Sydney Roosters, the Tigers charged out well in the first half, leading 16-6 at the change of ends.
In the first half, Dragons fullback Cody Ramsey was sin binned for a professional foul and Jack Bird was also marched ten for backchat towards referee Kennedy in an eventful fixture.
Zac Lomax kicked the winning penalty in the final minute give the Dragons a narrow win
Jackson Ford (middle) had levelled the score with a try in the 78th minute for St George
Backs Tautau Moga and Zac Lomax botched two tries for the Red V, as Moga ran out of gas after running 90m from an intercept where he looked bound to cross over.
But despite playing against a Dragons outfit that had to tough it out with 12 men for 20 minutes when they had two players in the sin bin for separate infringements, the Tigers couldn’t cling on.
Wests were also their own worst enemy, completing just 21 of 35 sets, while both sides combined for 26 errors which ruled the game.
With 15 minutes to go, Tigers halfback Jock Madden produced some magic in the shape of a 50-metre try that had the home crowd hopeful of a fifth win of the season.
Asu Kepaoa was sin-binned and placed of report after giving away the crucial penalty
The Tigers’ final position now hinges on next weekend’s game at Leichhardt Oval against Canberra and the outcome of 15th-placed Gold Coast’s two remaining NRL fixtures. The Titans host fellow strugglers Newcastle later on Sunday.
Wests must win their final round game against the Raiders, who have surged home to challenge the Broncos for an eighth spot.
The boys from Balmain have managed just four wins from a struggle street season, with captain James Tamou sidelined for his spray on referee Ben Cummins last week.
2023 coach Tim Sheens will have plenty to sort out for the upcoming off-season, as Wests haven’t made the final eight since 2014.
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