By Riley O’Leary for the Griffith Journal

29 July 2026

Title photo credit: Matthew Chirico

The Griffith Dragons have gone down 24-16 in a tight affair against the UniSC Spartans on Wednesday night at the Sunshine Coast.

The result ends the Dragons incredible six game unbeaten streak since the URLQ season began.

Despite the loss, the Dragons still sit comfortably at the top of the URLQ ladder.

In a match that saw the lead change hands four times, it was the Dragons that struck first after just five minutes.

Griffith, thanks primarily to an incredible Moana Pule’anga like break, were able to get in good field position early in the piece.

The Dragons capitalised, taking a 4-0 lead thanks to an Ethan Lawrence try, assisted by hooker Jessie Osborne.

It didn’t take long for UniSC to get back into the game – a strong kickoff forced a Dragons dropout.

UniSC finally converted pressure on the Dragons defence into points with a long range try in the 13th minute, with some second phase play catching the Dragons off guard, giving UniSC a 6-4 lead.

The Dragons came out physical in the following sets, attempting to put pressure back on the Spartans.

However, UniSC were able to withstand this pressure, forcing another Dragons dropout in the 19^th minute.

Not long after, the Spartans scored once again after another line break from their own end.

This time, momentum in the set was able to carry UniSC over the line to extend their lead to 12-4 in the 21^st minute.

As the Dragons looked for a way back into the fixture, dummy-half Jessie Osborne stepped up with one of the tries of the season in the 26^th minute.

Osborne successfully regathered his chip n’ chase on the last tackle from outside 20m on the last tackle of the set, falling over the line to get the Dragons within a try at 10-12.

The Dragons were clearly up and about after that individual brilliance from Osborne, with Ben Rysnbergen running 40m off the kick return.

A strong kick from Lachlan Moore at the end of that set forced a UniSC dropout.

The Dragons kept their foot on the throat of the Spartans and re-took the lead 16-12 in the following set, thanks to a clever piece of dummy-half play from Iverson Kennach.

A Dragons error gave UniSC one final attacking chance with only minutes to go in the first half, however resilient defence kept the Spartans at bay as Griffith took a 16-12 lead into the half-time break.

UniSC started the second half strong, with clever defence from right-winger Terence Kane required to stop a certain Spartans try in just the second minute of the half.

UniSC had the ascendency for the first five minutes of the half, however a line break set up on Griffith’s left-hand side by Warao Kaeok and Walter Malie gave the Dragons some much needed field position.

Not to be outdone, the Spartans put together some attacking football of their own, getting through the Dragons defence and out of their own end.  

This culminated in a Spartans try in the 43^rd minute, levelling the scores at 16-16.

The Spartans kept the momentum, and almost scored again in the 49^th minute if not for great defence from the Dragons on their own line.  

Lachlan Moore’s kicking game was at its best on Wednesday night, highlighted as he forced an error in the 50^th minute from the UniSC back three.

However, the Dragons were unable to capitalise on this momentum with three errors in three minutes killing any inroads the Dragons made.

The Dragons were able to defend their errors through this period.

An unlucky high tackle penalty was conceded by the Dragons in the 56^th minute, from which UniSC took the lead at 18-16.

The Dragons tried everything to get back into the lead, however UniSC were proving to be too strong on the night at their home ground.

Some promising play in the final ten minutes culminated in a threatening line break with seven minutes to go.

However, the Dragons conceded a penalty in possession which proved to be their last attacking chance of the match.

After earning a penalty, UniSC were able to roll down the field and score the match winning try with five minutes to spare, taking an unassailable 8-point lead.

While the Dragons will be no doubt disappointed with the result, there were still many positives from the game.

Once again, the Dragons forwards stood up.

When the going got tough, every middle forward and back-rower took tough carries to turn the momentum and give their team a much needed spark.

When they did have the ball in good areas, the Dragons were able to capitalise and individual brilliance from some of Griffith’s playmakers showed why they sit comfortably at the top of the table.

A key takeaway for the Dragons will be discipline – by making a few errors and conceding some avoidable penalties the Dragons made the game a lot harder on themselves than it needed to be.

However, this is all par for the course in a team that is still developing and has been undefeated in the season to date.

It is impossible to stay up for an entire season without any hiccups and there is no doubt that the Dragons remain the top-performing side of the URLQ season in 2026.

In many ways, a loss at this point of the season can teach the high-flying Dragons some valuable lessons as they head into their final two regular season games before finals.

Both of these matches are at home, set to be played at the Nathan Fields.

Their next fixture is against the QUT Trouts on Wednesday 5 August, while their final game will be played against the UQ Hounds on Wednesday 19 August.

Kick-off for both games is at 7:30pm; members of the Griffith community are strongly encouraged to attend and support the team as they look to finish the regular season strong.