The Illawarra Steelers HNWP side extended their unbeaten streak to five in a 26–6 win over the St George Dragons in a scrappy local derby at Jubilee Stadium last night.
The Steelers scored five tries to one in the 20-point victory, fullback Tayleah Handcock leading the way with a first-half double.
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The Steelers raced to a 20-0 lead, scoring four unanswered tries in the opening 20 minutes, showing no early signs of struggle despite the loss of key players Maddie Studdon, Tori Shipton, Maria Paseka and Tahlia O’Brien, who were all last-minute call-ups to the NRLW Dragons for this weekend’s Round 6 fixture against the Sharks.
Centre Brittany Constable opened the scoring for the visitors in the 3rd minute before back-to-back tries from Handcock gave the Steelers the upper hand.
[Watch] Steelers fullback Tayleah Handcock scores the first of her two tries against the Dragons
Winger Kiara Kostovski finished off the early attacking blitz with a try in the corner. Handcock’s sideline conversion, the second of four attempts in the first half, extended the lead.
The Dragons responded with a converted try to Sharmay Brierley on the half-hour mark, reducing the margin to 20-6 at the break.
The second half was marred by errors from both sides, with the Steelers managing to cross the stripe in the 49th minute through a damaging run from Tiarna West, who was one of the Steelers best on the night.
Handcock’s standout performance, with two tries and three conversions, was supported up front by West, Shae Muhleisen and skipper Mackenzie Lear. Centres Jessica Patea and Constable also proved a handful for the Dragons’ defence.
Debutants Ella Greatz and Charlotte Nicolson, along with Skye Spencer, who was playing just her second game, all handled the step up in grade, having played in the Lisa Fiaola Cup earlier in the season.
Words | Angelina Raula