Updated ,first published
Towards the end of the first half at Kogarah on Saturday night, a lone voice in the main grandstand attempted to fire up the Dragons chant.
He persisted for about 10 seconds before giving up.
St George Illawarra supporters haven’t had much to shout about this season and they were given few reasons to do so in a 30-12 loss to an under-strength New Zealand Warriors in wet weather in Sydney’s south.
Undone by errors, it was the Dragons’ 11th successive defeat this season.
They are now only two more away from sharing the unwanted title of the longest winless start to a campaign in NRL history.
That belongs to Newcastle, who lost 13 in a row at the beginning of 2005. The Knights came back to win eight of their final 11 matches, but they had Andrew Johns and Danny Buderus. The Dragons – who play the Broncos and Sharks in the next fortnight – do not.
Dean Young’s team fought hard even as doubles to third-choice Warriors halfback Te Maire Martin and winger Alofiana Khan-Pereira threatened to make the scoreline really untidy.
None gave more than the emerging Couchman twins, Ryan and Toby, regarded as key members of the club’s future.
But after the prolific Dallin Watene-Zelezniak took an intercept to complete his own pair of tries in the closing stages, there were boos as the final siren sounded.
The result was further soured by a dislocated shoulder suffered by Hayden Buchanan which forced Clint Gutherson to spend much of the evening at centre and Tyrell Sloan to deputise at fullback.
Gutherson himself was troubled by a new knee issue, having played through one on his other leg this season, while Damien Cook limped off in the final moments with an ankle problem, although he was confident it was not serious.
On a rainy night and with the Dragons in the midst of such a torrid season, only the most rusted-on club faithful braved the uncovered terraces and hill at St George Venues Jubilee Stadium.
The raincoats and umbrellas could not shield them from more disappointment.
The Dragons hit the lead early when Hamish Stewart sent Setu Tu over in the corner with an overhead pass and they spent sufficient time deep in the Warriors’ territory.
‘To have those fans turn up, pay their hard-earned [and] sit in the pouring rain, we appreciate it.’
Interim Dragons coach Dean Young
However, a recurring stream of handling mistakes, poor decisions, on top of a lack of class, thwarted their efforts to capitalise on their chances.
Veteran centre Valentine Holmes was the guilty party on three occasions in the first half alone, continuing his slide in form this season, while an ambitious cut-out pass from Sloan sailed over the sideline to torch another opportunity.
Young had singled out the Dragons’ ball control as an area he wanted improvement in following a spirited performance against competition leaders Penrith.
While the conditions were always going to be challenging, there was far too much dropped ball to beat most sides, let alone the high-flyers they were up against.
Young admitted the error rate made it almost mission impossible against the Warriors and conceded the Dragons had also been beaten in the physical battle, although he was pleased with their resolve.
“The boys kept on fighting all the way to the end and that’s what I expected,” Young said. “We’re in a tough spot – we appreciate all the fans turning up tonight.
“Where we’re sitting on the ladder and to have some of those fans turn up, pay their hard-earned [and] sit in the pouring rain, we appreciate it. We’ve got a fan day tomorrow and all the boys are going to be thanking everyone who turns up tomorrow.”
The Warriors were certainly not perfect themselves but were clinical enough when it mattered.
They were too strong despite being without State of Origin representatives Mitch Barnett and Kurt Capewell and losing Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to a knee injury after only 11 minutes. Eddie Ieremia-Toeava also failed to return following a head knock later in the first half.
Warriors coach Andrew Webster said Tuivasa-Sheck was able to walk around after full-time in a positive sign for the 32-year-old.
Also encouraging in the Warriors’ sixth win in succession was the display of Martin, who again proved a more than capable replacement for the injured Tanah Boyd and Luke Metcalf.
They face Penrith in a top-of-the-table clash at CommBank Stadium next weekend.
Chris Barrett is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former South-East Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.
