Jersey Flegg Match Report: Dragons in charge

St George Illawarra produced a relentless performance in downing the One New Zealand Warriors 46-14 in Saturday’s 16th-round Jersey Flegg Cup (under-21) clash at North Harbour Stadium.

After three consecutive games on the road, playing at home proved to be cold comfort for the Warriors as the Dragons took charge from the outset.

While the outcome delivered revenge for St George Illawarra after the Warriors’ upset them 28-22 in Wollongong in April, the Warriors fielded a side which had been heavily affected by players promoted to the New South Wales Cup side and others who were unavailable.

In fact, of the 17 players used in the Warriors' Wollongong victory only seven remained for this contest.

That coupled with the gruelling schedule caught up with the Warriors as they conceded four first half tries to trail 0-24 at the break.

The deficit was 0-30 within minutes of the resumption before an Etuate Fukofuka try provided some relief for the Warriors only for the Dragons to step it up again with another three tries to shoot out to a 46-6 lead.

The Warriors finished on a positive note with late tries to halfback Cassius Cowley and centre Sialetili Faeamani to complete the scoring on a challenging day.

They're home again next Saturday against the Raiders - this time at Go Media Stadium - in the first leg of a tripleheader finishing with the NRL clash between the Warriors and the Broncos.