St George-Illawarra have made it two wins on the trot with a 26-12 win over the New Zealand Warriors but that wasn't the major talking point after Kieran Foran's long awaited NRL return proved over before it began at UOW Jubilee Oval on Sunday.
Foran's presence in the warm-up was a welcome one for Warriors fans but it proved short-lived with the former Kiwi Test captain leaving the field with a hamstring injury prior to kickoff and not returning.
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A tidy Dragons effort was too good for a Warrior's side still without Kieran Foran after a hamstring strain ended his game just moments before kick off.
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Dragons down listless Warriors
A tidy Dragons effort was too good for a Warrior's side still without Kieran Foran after a hamstring strain ended his game just moments before kick off.
Early reports were of a hamstring tear, meaning he'll likely have to wait a number of weeks before contemplating a return, a heartbreaking situation for the 26-year-old who's endured a tumultuous time since last playing for Parramatta in round 12 last season.
It forced coach Stephen Kearney into a reshuffle with Tuimoala Lolohea shifting to the halves and Blake Ayshford coming in at right centre a day after playing in the Warriors NSW Cup victory over Illawarra on Saturday.
"You wouldn't read about it, it's really sad," Kearney said.
"It's pretty early to tell [how serious it is] at this stage. He's still got pretty good strength in it but when he came in it just didn't feel 100 per cent right. Obviously it's been a long lay-off for him and the last thing you want to do is have him make it worse.
For the Dragons it was back to back victories for the first time since round 16 last season, and leaves them firmly entrenched in the top four after four rounds with a clash against the battling Wests Tigers to come this Sunday.
It came on the back of a masterful performance from five-eighth Gareth Widdop,who barely made it to the game in time after being t-boned in his car on the way to the ground, but managed to notch his 500th point for the club.Â
It was part of a 3-1 start that has exceeded most expectations and coach Paul McGregor says it's an exciting time for his side.
"It's nice to be where we are, we've put in a lot of work and the guys have worked extremely hard and they're creating a really nice environment to be around at the moment,' McGregor said.
"It's really important that when you've got energy and enthusiasm you're doing things well that you celebrate that. The boys are really doing that at the moment.
"When you get that attitude and you get it right week to week, it's just 80 minutes of footy and just you against the opposition.Â
"They're enjoying what they're doing and they're getting a lot of confidence week to week. Footy's strange, seven days is a long time as we've seen before so we're just taking the next game as it comes and we're going to play against a desperate team in the Wests Tigers."
Widdop and Shaun Johnson traded penalty goals inside the first six minutes and the Dragons led 8-2 after Paul Vaughan crashed across from close range.Â
Josh McCrone burrowed across just minutes later and the hosts had a handy buffer when Josh Dugan strolled through a yawning gap and stepped past Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to score under the posts and take a 20-2 lead after 22 minutes.
Issac Luke hit back before the break and the hosts got within eight when Ken Maumalo scored out wide three minutes after the resumption but it was as close as they got with Tim Lafai stepping his way across and Widdop converting to give his side a 14-point cushion with 24 minutes to play
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