St George brush aside under-par Wests Tigers

St George Illawarra have shown that tales of their demise are very much exaggerated as they brushed aside an under-par Wests Tigers 36-12 in tonight's NRL clash at Kogarah. Dragons coach Steve Price binned the video of his side's 30-4 humbling by Canterbury last Saturday and vowed his side would move on from one of their worst performances for years. And his players showed no ill-effects as they raced out to a 24-6 halftime lead thanks to tries from Mitch Rein, Dan Hunt, Nathan Fien and Ben Hornby. Dragon's debutant Daniel Vidot and Ben Creagh crossed late in the game to seal the comprehensive victory, while Jamie Soward kicked six goals. Beau Ryan and Joel Reddy were the try-scorers for the Tigers, who have now lost two successive matches and looked anything but pre-season premiership favourites as their much-vaunted attacking game failed to fire. However, the main talking point from the game was three high shots in the first half in a bad-tempered encounter between two sides who have little love for one another. Tigers stars Benji Marshall and Ryan were both collected by swinging arms in the opening stanza by Jeremy Latimore and Trent Merrin, with Adam Blair doing the same to Dragons winger Jason Nightingale. Latimore's hit on Marshall went unpunished and although Merrin and Blair were penalised, neither were put on report by referees Tony Archer and Phil Haines. All three incidents will almost certainly be scrutinised by the match review committee on Monday. A lifting tackle by Robbie Farah on Hornby in the opening two minutes will also be looked at with the Tigers skipper escaping any sanctions on the field. The Dragons were hit by the loss of starting centres Matt Cooper and Beau Scott to injury before the game, forcing Price into a late reshuffle with Kyle Stanley and Nathan Green deputising. Brett Morris moved to fullback with new recruit Daniel Vidot handed a debut on the wing. Morris revelled in his new role, producing a high-class performance that could see him stay in the position for the long-term. The man who was originally earmarked for the role, Tim Moltzen, who decided to remain with the Tigers after the Dragons announced he had signed with them, endured a torrid evening. The 22-year-old's every touch was jeered by the 18,726-strong crowd, and they roared with delight when he knocked on at the base of the scrum in front of his own posts just before Fien's try. Soward, who was involved in a running verbal battle with Ryan all game, also had an impressive game at five-eighth as the Dragons sealed their second win in three games.