By Riley O’Leary for the Griffith Journal
Photo by Matt Chirico
2 August 2025
The Griffith Dragons have won their second game in a row, defeating the USC Spartans 16-0 in another great performance.
It didn’t take long for the Dragons to get going, forcing an error from their opponents within the first minute.
This allowed them to build into the game nicely, before they crossed for their first try in the 11th minute through Taine Morrison.
Some possession then went the way of the Spartans, who had a couple of half-opportunities which were quickly shut down by the strong Dragons defence.
Despite not scoring again during the first half, the Dragons did have a lot of the ball and were always on top, taking a 6-0 lead into the break.
Similarly to the first half, the Dragons just didn’t allow the Spartans into the game.
Within the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Dragons once again shut the Spartans out of the game, with some great defence and good discipline, leading to a try in the 44th minute to make the score 12-0.
As always in rugby league, the Spartans had their moments. In spite of a period with the ball before the hour mark, they were still unable to cross, thanks to some great defence from the Dragons.
Eventually, the pressure to score broke the Spartans, where a length of the field effort spearheaded by fullback Taine Morrison as well as half Hayden Mehlert saw the Dragons effectively seal the win at 16-0.
Speaking post-match, Dragons coach Sione Malaloi was very impressed with his team’s performance.
“It’s really good to see that we put a zero on the scoreboard,” he said, referencing the fact that the Dragons kept their opponents scoreless.
“It’s a credit to the assistant coaches who’s been helping me with the boys who really turned up and played for each other today.
“We were dominant in parts of the game, I wouldn’t say we were dominant the full game.
“They came back late in the first half, and they tried to build some more momentum in the second half.
“I told the boys at half time expect them [Spartans] to come out full guns blazing.
“They tried and we extinguished it.”
Mr Malaloi was once again full of praise for his captain, Devante Loane, who remarkably played the entire match as a middle forward.
“Devante played the whole game, he was exceptional.
“To be honest, I was trying to figure out why he was at centre when he should be in the middle,” he joked.
“At the end of the day, he’s on the field and there’s a method to his madness, and it pulled off.”
He was also vert impressed with how his fullback, Taine Morrison, performed.
“Taine played a very exceptional game.
“That was a standout performance throughout the whole night.
“Everybody played their part again, which is all I expect from them. Once everybody plays their part, we get a score like tonight.”
It’s now just a matter of keeping on top of the little things for Mr Malaloi, as his team gears up for a run into the back end of the year.
“We just need fix up on our little one percenters: our ball handling skills, our discipline.
“But apart from that, we just take it one day at a time, one game at a time.”
The Dragons next fixture is an away trip against the QUT Trouts on Wednesday, August 6.
The Griffith Journal 
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