SIX weeks suddenly seems a very long time for St George Illawarra.
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That’s the projected time frame on Gareth Widdop’s return to action, and it can’t come quick enough after the Dragons sunk to a 34-22 defeat to league leaders Melbourne in the absence of their skipper at WIN Stadium on Sunday.
It was a clash between sides one and two on the ladder, but the Storm looked streets ahead of the Dragons in a near flawless opening half, with flyers Suliasi Vunivalu and Josh Addo-Carr both bagging first-half doubles as the visitors led 22-0 after just 25 minutes.
Craig Bellamy’s men had 67 per cent of the football and completed 10 of 11 sets in the opening 20 minutes to seemingly break the will of the Dragons who looked rudderless in the absence of Widdop and in the face of a first-half blitz that effectively sewed up the result by halftime.
It seems unlikely that Widdop’s presence would have altered the result but his injury, suffered in the club’s Anzac Day loss to the Roosters, could now prove season-defining for the Dragons, who dropped consecutive games for the first time this season and face tough away games against Cronulla and the Warriors when competition resumes following this weekend’s representative round.
The rep round and a round 12 bye will soak up some of Widdop’s recovery time but coach Paul McGregor will no doubt be sweating on his return as he contemplates a tough mid-season stretch after a dream start to 2017.
With doubles flying thick and fast, Billy Slater ended a try-scoring drought that stretched back to round nine 2015 with a pair of tries in the second half to go with his two first-half try assists as the lead ballooned to 30 midway through the second half.
Cooper Cronk’s 65th minute sin-binning gave the hosts a second wind with the Dragons scoring three tries in the final 14 minutes to put a dent in the margin but it was small consolation in a scoreline that ultimately flattered them.
Vunivalu had his first try in the eighth minute when he collected a well-weighted kick from Slater though the Storm directed most of their attack at the Dragons right flank, asking plenty of questions of Euan Aitken and Nene MacDonald.
The pressure told when Blair put Addo-Carr into space with the speedster standing up Josh Dugan to score up to score in the corner with Cameron Smith’s conversion giving the visitors a 12-0 lead. Vunivalu with acrobatic effort to score his second to extend the lead to 16-0 after 19 minutes.
The Dragons looked to have hit back in the 22nd minute when Tim Lafai crossed but the bunker upheld on-field referee Matt Checchin’s held up call. Addo-Carr had his second after an offload from Nelson Asofa-Solomona to push the lead out to 22-0.
The Dragons eventually stemmed the flow with Nightingale crossing three minutes before the break to cut the margin to 18. The hope was quickly snuffed out when Slater crossed for his first try soon after the resumption with Smith’s conversion extending the lead out to 28-4 with 34 minutes still to play.
Slater’s second extended the lead to 34-4 before Nightingale got in on the double act with his second try to put a dent in the deficit.
The Dragons eventually turned the tide through Nene MacDonald, who snaffled an intercept and rushed 60 metres up field only to be dragged down inches from the try-line by Addo-Carr, with Cronk’s second effort in the tackle earning him a 10-minute stint in the sin-bin.
Cameron McInnes crossed from dummy-half in the ensuing set to cut the margin back to 20 before Jason Nightingale completed his hat-trick. Tariq Sims also got across with just over a minute on the clock but the surge came too late to have any bearing on the result.