Dragons V Sharks. The Local Derby

Things were not looking promising for this game. We're out of the top 8 with a poor for and against, but with a very slim mathematical chance. The Sharks are fighting for the minor premiership. Though it's a local derby and it should bring out the best of the Red V supporters.

It was a nice night and the 13,000 plus crowd came in fairly early to fill the ground out. No real major surprises in the team but Duges is back in the team after GI gave him a whack in the jaw since Origin 3. Hoped for a big game from the fullback as we missed those strong carries.

The Sharks had a slight mishap with the G Train pulling out with a slight calf strain which was a shame.

Anyways with out further or do here are some pics of the game

Well that's half time and a late penalty in the first half makes it Dragons 6, Sharks 12. Tight game, with the Dragons with a good chance in this contest to create an upset

And that's a wrap, some what an upset considering ladder positions. I think it was more a game we lived up to our potential, the forwards gave it to the sharkies pack and there were some good pieces of attack. The addition of Sims will be great for the Red V next year and Duges just shows how important he is to the team in fullback.

St George Illawarra Dragons 32 (Tariq Sims 2, Euan Aitken, Mitch Rein, Gareth Widdop tries; Gareth Widdop 6 goals) defeated Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 18 (Valentine Holmes, Ben Barba, Ricky Leutele tries; James Maloney 3 goals) at UOW Jubilee Oval. Crowd: 13,167. Half-time: Sharks 12-6. 

Dragons V Titans. I'd rather not talk about the game ...

It was a cold winter's evening. Two teams decided to play a game of rugby league in the suburban ground of Kogarah. One team's jersey colour was predominantly white with a red V, the other was a team in blue with the odd splash of gold.

Anyways the script does not always go to plan. Benji Marshall, had his hamstring issues that left him hamstrung, and well Josh Dugan in maroon eyes, deliberately ran into Greg Inglis' shoulder to break his jaw. I'm not saying those two guys would have made the difference but you need to give some hope they would.

The Dragons tried hard, it has not been a season where they can play a full 80 minutes. Unfortunately tonight they played in patches but their bad patches out lasted their good patches and were comprehensively beaten. Lucky the NSW Blues won on Wednesday or this would be a long depressing weekend in terms of footy luck.

Anyways back to shooting tonight and I'm back to using the 70-200mm, it lacks reach. Need to save for something longer as the 300mm f4 L IS i had last game. Again I'd rather not say anything.

Well that was half time and it was Dragons 6 Titan 14. Hoping for some action on the Northern end so I can see some Dragon tries rather than the TItans barraging their way through our defence.

That's the wrap, a very unconvincing display by the Red V. Stick solid things will turn around, the question is when. There was a crowd of just over 8000 on this winter evening.

St George Illawarra Dragons 12. Tries: Mann (2). Goals: Widdop (2/2).

Golf Coast Titans 32. Tries: Macdonald (2), McQueen, Don, Peats, Mead. Goals: Tyrone Roberts (4/6), Ash Taylor (0/1).

Dragons V Raiders ... and a Canon 300mm f4 IS L lens test

A couple of things about the post, first and foremost it was the first outing for the beloved Red V Dragons at UOW Kogarah Jubilee Oval. That is some mouthful to get out. Being a Thursday night game, it was a rush to get out of work, make my way home and pick up the camera equipment and find a parking spot in the burbs around the oval.

Drama at the ground with rumours that the game maybe called off due to the south western main light not powering up due to power failures around the area. This is supposed to be a professional sport ? Probably time there should be some backup generators.

Next issue, I managed to get there and catch some of the young kids run around and tried to give this Canon 300mm f4 IS L lens a test. Issues right away, it seemed the lens was not focusing well. There appeared to be front focusing and back focusing issues and quick micro calibration on the run just seemed like it wasn't helping. Choosing different case settings for AF detection wasn't helping. I was behind the 8 ball from the start and being too confident in my ability to know the menu's and settings in the Canon 1Dx.

So here are samples of me putting up with a Canon 300mm f4 IS L that I think now was slow focusing. For those who want to know the ISO setting, it was set at ISO 2500 and shutter speed was set at 1/1000, wide open with a f4 aperture.

It was a pretty dour affair after a promising start for the Dragons, it's half time and the Dragons are up 6-0. The Dragons will be running down the southern end of the ground and I'm expecting some bombs in the dark.

Aitken takes an intercept when the hooter sounds after the 1st period of extra time. It's on the dark side of the ground and no way my lens can reach.

So to finish off with a bang, here are the Flames :)

An ugly win but gets the Dragons in the top 8 and take it at 16-12 at extra time in front of just over 9000 people

Dragons 16 (Try Frizell (17min), Lafai (65min), Aitken (5min), Goals Widdop 2/3) Raiders 12 (Rapana (55min), Croker (77min), Goals Croker 2/2).