Touch judge makes huge call as Dragons thwart late Eels comeback

3 days ago 11

There was very little between Parramatta and St George Illawarra. In the end, there might have just been a millimetre in it.

With the game in the balance, Eels winger Josh Addo-Carr was flying down the left flank, seemingly setting up a try that would level the scores. “The Foxx” flirted with the sideline and the touch judge raised his flag in the belief he put a toe on the white paint.

It was a huge call and one that may have determined one of the most helter-skelter games of the season. In the end, the Dragons just hung on to record a thrilling 34-20 win at WIN Stadium. Their ability to overcome adversity proved decisive.

Nathan Lawson had four minutes to prepare for his breakout game.

Nathan Lawson and Zac Lomax go up for a high ball on Saturday night.

The Australian Olympian – he made the switch from rugby sevens after the Paris Games – wasn’t expecting to participate. Wearing jersey No.22, Lawson completed the pre-game warm-up as an emergency reserve, just in case he was needed. He was.

The luckless Christian Tuipulotu succumbed to yet another hamstring strain just moments before kick-off. Lawson didn’t waste his opportunity.

It took just two minutes for Lawson to score his first try, and before long he had bagged a double. The winger even managed to defuse the majority of bombs that came his way, despite the constant threat of Zac Lomax.

This was the story of the Dragons’ night. Whether it be the Tuipolutu drama, the injuries that ended Luciano Leilua’s (quad) and Toby Couchman’s (shoulder) nights, the head-injury assessments to Corey Allen, Emre Guler and Hamish Stewart, or a spirited Eels comeback, the Red V somehow hung on.

The Eels scored three second-half tries, but ultimately fell short.

The other story to come out of this game is Lomax’s goal-kicking. The NSW winger couldn’t hit a barn door during State of Origin and missed his first three conversion attempts against the Dragons. It’s now up to Laurie Daley to decide whether to stick solid for the decider.