Super Saturday: Dragons v Cowboys; Titans v Broncos

Injury update: Burns has been assisted from the field with an ankle injury.

52 min: Cowboys winger Braidon Burns has run 80m to score against the run of play and with his side down to 12 men after intercepting a King-Togia pass from a Dragons scrum win. A remarkable effort by prop Toby Couchman to chase Burns and force him to score out wide, but Clifford still managed to convert. Cowboys 22-0.  

45 min: Reuben Cotter has been sent to the sinbin for a professional foul after tackling Valentine Holmes as he attempted to run the ball to the 20m line for a re-start after fielding a Dearden kick on the full in the Dragons in-goal.

42 min: The Dragons have made a good start to the second half with lock Hamish Stewart leaping above Drinkwater for an Atkinson bomb but he couldn't hold the ball.

Halftime summary: Dragons fans have booed their team at halftime after the Cowboys overcame a deficit in possession and field position to lead 16-0 and leave Shane Flanagan's men facing the worst start to a season in St George Illawarra history. The Dragons have got themselves into attacking position on a number of occasions during the opening 40 minutes but have failed to capitalise. In contrast, Cowboys halves Tom Dearden and Jake Clifford have made the most of their opportunities to lay on three tries. Both teams have completed 18 of 20 sets. A huge 40 minutes coming up for both teams - the Dragons trying to stave off their fifth consecutive defeat and the Cowboys aiming for three wins in a row.

40 min: Purdue has his second try after racing through to latch on to a Clifford grubber kick. Clifford converted. Cowboys 16-0.

38 min: Dragons debutant David Fale is on report for dangerous contact after kicking Cowboys opposite Murray Taulagi with his outstretched leg while leaping to field a kick.

33 min: Gutherson has produced another try saving effort after batting a Dearden grubber over the dead ball line.

30 min: Jaxon Purdue scored a 60 metre try after Clifford put him into space and the star centre beat Gutherson with an in-and-away step. Clifford converted. Cowboys 10-0.

28 min: The Dragons have blown another scoring opportunity when Atkinson grubbered with a two-man overlap and the ball was fielded by Drinkwater.

Injury update: The Cowboys have lost forward Sam McIntyre with an ankle injury. Kai O'Donnell is his replacement.

22 min: Cowboys secondrower Heilum Luki has crashed over the line after the Cowboys ran the ball on the last tackle but Gutherson and Leilua held him up.

20 min: An error by Luciano Leilua has been compounded by a penalty against secondrow partner Jaydn Su'A. 

18 min: Daniel Atkinson split the defence and found Gutherson in support but Jake Clifford cut the fullback down short of the line. A perfectly weighted grubber by Lykhan King-Togia forced a goal-line drop-out. 

13 min: Scott Drinkwater has opened the scoring after the Cowboys shifted the ball wide and Dearden put the star fullback into space. Jake Clifford missed the conversion attempt. Cowboys 4-0

12 min: Drinkwater has given the Cowboys field position with a 40/20 kick. 

10 min: A forward pass from Damien Cook to Emre Guler has ended the Dragons first real attacking raid of the game.

8 min: Tongan great Jason Taumalolo has committed the first error for the Cowboys after losing the ball metres from the Dragons line as the visitors mounted sustained pressure following consecutive six again calls.

3 min: Clint Gutherson saves the day for the Dragons after Tom Dearden busted the Dragons defence and linked with Reed Mahoney.

 

Kick-off: Tom Dearden receives the ball and passes to Coen Hess for the first hit-up of the game.

Late Mail

Dragons: St George Illawarra stalwart Blake Lawrie will start at prop in a late switch with Toby Couchman, while boom halfback Kade Reed drops out of the final squad. Former Panther David Fale comes on to the wing and is set for his Dragons debut after scoring four tries in four games in NSW Cup. Lyhkan King-Togia will step into the No.6 jersey as Kyle Flanagan recovers from a concussion suffered in last week's loss to the Titans. Moses Suli is on track to return in the centres, while Couchman is also back on deck after missing the Round 4 defeat due to concussion. 

Cowboys: Centre Tom Chester is set to come straight back onto the starting side in his return from suspension, with Zac Laybutt moving to the interchange as a result. North Queensland are a settled side as they chase a seventh-straight win over the Dragons. Kai O'Donnell has joined the interchange, with Harrison Graham the player to drop out. 

Stat Attack

• The Dragons have lost their last eight NRL games.
• The Cowboys have won their last six games against the Dragons.
• The Dragons are aiming to avoid a 0-5 start for the first time in the joint venture’s history.
• Cowboys halfback Tom Dearden has scored five tries in his last three games against the Dragons.
• Dragons winger Christian Tuipulotu has scored five tries in his last five games at Jubilee Stadium.

Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services, author of the official annual of the NRL.

Titans v Broncos at Cbus Super Stadium