ST Pat’s were unable to bring in the energetic football from their previous Group 10 premier league round on Sunday as they went down at home to the Mudgee Dragons.
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There were no answers a lacklustre Pat’s side had for the Dragons, going down 32-18, just a week after the Saints came close to knocking over competition leaders Orange CYMS.
Mudgee’s Ben Thompson got the visitors on the board just four minutes into the game but Greg Behan was able to quickly hit back for Pat’s make it 6-4 in side’s favour.
At the 26 minute mark a horror patch of play from the Saints saw the Dragons run in three tries that would ultimately prove the difference at full-time.
Lee Hicks, Ethen Butler and Andrew Laurie all crossed for the visitors in the space of just six minutes.
Pat’s brought the deficit back to 20-12 when Behan crashed over for his second try of the game.
Corin Smith’s converted try just before half-time was a big blow for Pat’s.
Saints were an improved side following the break but the Dragons were also up for the task.
In a highly defensive half of football it took until the 70th minute for a team to find the try line.
Saints’ Tyson Medlyn found the line but just moments later Mudgee’s Sam Woden converted his own try to seal the win.
“It was a funny sort of game. There wasn’t much intensity there from both teams in the first half. It was there to be won, but with the position that we’ve been in this year it was like we were happy just to run alongside them,” Pat’s coach Kurt Hancock said.
“Whenever they would skip away we would respond. We didn’t take the game to them.
“Once Sam Woden got his kicking game together it was always going to be hard. He’s such a good game manager.”
Hancock said there was more encouraging signs from his squad as the match reached its later stages.
“In the second half it was only a try each, even though Mudgee had a lot of possession, so their effort there was really good,” he said.
“We were in right frame of mind, and after last week it was all pointing in the right direction for us to play well today. The problem was that we didn’t go out there looking to challenge them.
“I thought Brady Cheshire was really good today and probably had his best game of the year.”
Pat’s will be monitoring an eye injury picked up by Behan in the first half.