Storm outclasses Dragons 24-10
Under-siege Dragons centre Mark Gasnier may have done enough to hold on to his Kangaroos jersey but the Storm got the points as they posted a convincing 24-10 win in their NRL clash at Olympic Park.
And in more bad news for St George Illawarra, Test aspirant Luke Bailey was placed on report for an alleged late and high shot on Storm hooker Cameron Smith, while in-form halfback Mathew Head was forced from the field five minutes before halftime after aggravating a knee problem.
Gasnier was kept quiet in the second half as the Dragons, who were backing up from Tuesday's Anzac Day win over the Roosters, ran out of puff in the wet Melbourne conditions.
But a blistering charge downfield, a miracle ball to tryscorer Colin Best and a trysaving tackle in the first half may have saved his Test position.
Critics, including former Test skipper Gorden Tallis, have argued Gasnier should be omitted from the Australian line-up for next Friday's Test against New Zealand because he is contemplating a lucrative offer from rugby union.
But Gasnier proved he is still one of the form centres of the competition and deserves his spot.
The Dragons dominated early but the Storm defence held firm for 13 minutes, until Gasnier held off Matt King and Steve Turner to get a ball away to Best, who dived across in the corner.
Turner hit back to level the scores with a try from a Smith bomb before Melbourne speedster Jake Webster posted two tries - one after an 80m dash - to push his case for inclusion in the Kiwi side.
Video referee Steve Nash was kept busy, called to adjudicate five times, while referee Tony Archer was also kept on his toes.
Bailey's alleged offence came 15 minutes into the second half after a Smith kick, with Archer saying, "You cocked the arm up" as he put the prop on report.
Ten minutes later fellow forward Justin Poore was sin-binned when he smashed Cooper Cronk after the Storm halfback had put up a kick.
After taking a 14-4 lead at halftime, Smith, who was playing five-eighth rather than his customary hooking position, added two penalty goals before the Storm further boosted their tally through a try to reserve forward Ian Donnelly.
The Dragons managed a late try though winger Reece Simmonds after some handy lead-up work by second-rower Ben Creagh, but the Storm already had another win secured.
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