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Coach Anthony Griffin insists there was no extra pressure on St George Illawarra ahead of their first game of the year despite the highly-publicised off-season that preceded the 32-18 defeat of Gold Coast.
Criminal charges for two Dragons players, debate about Griffin's future, a player boycott of the club's awards night and an early-morning confrontation between teammates after the Charity Shield loss in Mudgee combined for a summer in the headlines.
In the pre-season, bookmakers tipped the Dragons as the third-likeliest candidates for the wooden spoon, and after they bled two soft tries to trail 12-2 at the 20-minute mark on Sunday, the grim forecast might have felt reasonable.
But Tyrell Sloan, who requested a release during the off-season before recanting, turned the Dragons' fortunes around.
The young fullback caught David Fifita napping at marker and tore through the middle of Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on a line break that set Jacob Liddle up for a try and sparked a Dragons skirmish.
St George Illawarra scored three tries in the eight minutes before half-time and never looked like surrendering their advantage.
Griffin was not surprised his side had defied the headlines with its performance.
"Except for one day in Mudgee, we had a really good off-season," Griffin said.
"We're really confident in where we're going as a group. You could tell yesterday at training, guys were really looking forward to getting the season started.
"It was important for us to have a really strong, solid performance. I thought we did that for 50 minutes; we can build off that now."
The only time the Titans touched the ball between Sloan's line-break and the halftime hooter, Kieran Foran fielded a kick and was immediately dragged back in goal.
The Dragons controlled the weight of possession after the break as well, thanks largely to Ben Hunt's kicking game and Gold Coast's errors.
After Gold Coast failed to find the sideline from a kick for touch, Sloan caught a short ball from Ben Hunt and ran over for a simple try early in the second half.
The Titans' ill-discipline gave new halves combination Tanah Boyd and Kieran Foran little hope of staging a fightback.
In the second half, the Titans completed at 69 per cent and had only 39 per cent of the ball.
"We just couldn't control them through the middle and then they got control of the game and we couldn't get it back," said Titans coach Justin Holbrook.
Prized recruit Sam Verrills left the field injured in the 50th minute after a knock to the shoulder but Holbrook believes he will be fit for round three.
"He's got a burner in his shoulder and he battled on for a fair while there," Holbrook said of his hooker.
"He'll be okay."
When fan favourite Blake Lawrie crashed over for the second try of his 104-game career, the Dragons were home.
Debutant Toby Couchman suffered a head knock in the second half and failed to finish the match in the only sour note for St George Illawarra.
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Australia have finished on 480 after Usman Khawaja's epic 180 and Cameron Green's debut Test century made India's bowlers toil for almost two days in the field.
The tourists made the most of the best batting pitch of the series on Friday, forcing India to bowl 168 overs and take a third new ball in the fourth Test in Ahmedabad.
Australia had 10 overs to bowl at the hosts before stumps but India comfortably survived to finish 0-36, to trail by 444.
India captain Rohit Sharma (17 not out) and young opener Shubman Gill (18no) will resume batting on Saturday with Australia desperate for early breakthroughs.
Khawaja made the third-best score by an Australian in India, finishing only behind Dean Jones (210 in 1986) and Matthew Hayden (203 in 2001).
The 36-year-old opener's 10-hour epic came from 422 balls - the most deliveries an Australian has ever faced in India in an innings.
Australia comfortably reached the best total of the series, from either side, thanks to Khawaja and Green's 208-run fifth-wicket stand.
It ended up being Australia's best score in India since they tallied 577 in Delhi in 2008.
Green (114) played a brilliant, chanceless knock full of stunning drives to break through for a century that had been more than two years in the making.
The 23-year-old has made at least one significant contribution with the bat in every series he has played in since debuting at Adelaide Oval against India in December 2020.
Khawaja and Green's partnership was the second-best by an Australian pair in a Test in India, only falling short of Allan Border and Kim Hughes' 222-run stand in 1979.
"With Uzzy, he's an experienced head who's played Test cricket for more than 10 years now," Green said.
"He's so valuable for guys like myself and a few of the young guys in the team the way he goes about it.
"I'm trying to learn as much as I can off him, and, luckily enough, there are a lot of guys in the change rooms like that."
When Khawaja departed early in the final session on Friday, Australia could have easily crumbled.
But for the first time in the series, the visitors got valuable contributions from the tail.
Offspinners Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy put on a crucial 70-run ninth-wicket stand to frustrate India's tired attack.
Lyon faced the most balls (96) in an innings during his career to finish on 34, while Murphy showed serious promise in the final Test of his debut tour.
Murphy had scored a combined five runs in the first three Tests of his career, but hit a first-class best of 41 in a huge confidence boost for the 22-year-old.
Australia's best total on tour before this innings was their 263 in Delhi as both teams have struggled to bat on three raging turners.
Star Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin bounced back from his second innings meltdown in Indore to take 6-91 in 48 overs, highlighted by the key scalp of Green.
As Australia batted better than they had all series, the tourists started the day beset with sadness after learning of the death of captain Pat Cummins' mother.
Cummins returned to Sydney to be around his family after the second Test loss in Delhi.
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Reece Walsh has run riot at fullback on his club debut for Brisbane to inspire a 28-16 win over North Queensland, on a night where Broncos winger Corey Oates broke his jaw.
The 20-year-old Walsh showcased why coach Kevin Walters was so keen to bring him back to the club, having a hand in three tries in the space of 10 minutes either side of halftime.
He sealed the deal for the home side with a 76th-minute try to cap a magic Friday night.
"If that's his first game it's great for everyone involved," Walters said of Walsh.
"It was a great start for him. He has good skills in his kitbag but it's only early for Reece.
"We brought him back to do some of the things he did. I'm very proud."
The addition of Walsh has made the Broncos a premiership threat.
His scintillating speed, in combination with the electric No.6 Ezra Mam, was too much for the Cowboys to handle at Suncorp Stadium in front of 43,162 supporters.
North Queensland will wait nervously for the match review committee findings with centre Peta Hiku on report for a crusher tackle on Walsh, winger Kyle Feldt for high contact on Walsh and fullback Scott Drinkwater for a high shot on Oates when he was denied a try just after halftime.
Oates left the field clutching his jaw, Drinkwater was sin-binned and Walsh broke a 10-all deadlock with an instinctive left-foot kick for Kotoni Staggs in the 44th minute.
Walters said Oates was "off to hospital" and was far from happy with the incident.
Cowboys coach Todd Payten said there was no malice in Drinkwater's tackle.
"Scott's tackle happened really quick," Payten said.
"Corey changed direction late. He had one foot on the deck and no intent to make the collision where he got him.
"It was an accident. The kid was doing his best to stop the try."
Walsh blitzed the Cowboys again five minutes later, Mam finishing it for his second try - and the hosts never looked back.
Brisbane were defensively gallant with Walsh and Mam both impressing on that front.
Their attack was next level. Walsh terrorised North Queensland's right edge and Mam, who scored a double, took a mile when given an inch.
The Cowboys set up a thrilling finish when second-rower Jeremiah Nanai chased a Chad Townsend kick, but Walsh had the final say.
Six matches in a row between the two clubs from 2015-2017 were decided by six points or less, including the 2015 grand final won 17-16 by North Queensland.
The match had a similar feel about it from the get-go but it was the Broncos who had the X-factor in attack to make the difference.
The sides were locked at 10-all at the break after both experienced halfbacks shone. Brisbane skipper Adam Reynolds had grubbered for Kurt Capewell to score after Cowboys co-captain Townsend sent rampaging Nanai over.
Walsh got outside the visitors' right edge defence and then a superb in-field kick by Oates got Mam over in the 39th minute. It was a portent of what was to come.
Broncos prop Martin Taupau was also put on report for a hip-drop tackle on Jamayne Taunoa-Brown.
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Australia could sign a "transformational" Indian trade deal by the end of the year after Anthony Albanese wrapped up his visit to the subcontinent by unveiling a string of agreements.
At a joint address with Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, the prime minister revealed the two countries had finalised deals to boost economic and cultural ties.
Significantly, Mr Albanese said the nations agreed on an early conclusion to their Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement, adding he was hopeful it would be wrapped up by the end of the year.
"This transformational deal will realise the full potential of the bilateral economic relationship, creating employment opportunities and raising living standards for the people of both Australia and India," he said.
A limited free-trade agreement between the countries came into effect in January but has already borne fruit, with more than $2.5 billion worth of Australian produce hitting India.
The pair also announced an Australia-India solar task force co-chaired by Australian professor Renate Egan, one tangible outcome from discussions of the need to address climate change.
The nations are also set to work more closely on supplying critical minerals as India seeks to meet ambitious goals of 50 per cent renewable energy and 30 per cent electric vehicle usage by 2030.
"I am proud of the existing co-operation between Australia and India on solar and hydrogen technologies ... and the opportunities for us to work more closely to secure critical minerals supply chains," Mr Albanese said.
"The task force will provide our governments with advice on opportunities to accelerate solar PV deployment and enhance supply chains."
An audiovisual co-production agreement was also signed, supporting skilled jobs and creative exchange in the development of screen projects.
The leaders also made "significant and ambitious progress" on defence and security and committed to more information sharing.
"Prime Minister Modi and I discussed the increasingly uncertain global security environment and committed to strengthening the Australia-India defence and security partnership to address shared challenges and work towards an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific," Mr Albanese said.
"I welcome increased defence information sharing between Australia and India including in the maritime domain."
Mr Albanese had earlier toured a new aircraft carrier INS Vikrant - the first such vessel to be built in India - before he foreshadowed a national security deal.
Later this year, Australia will host Exercise Malabar for the first time and India will make its inaugural participation in Australia's Talisman Sabre exercise.
The prime minister earlier laid a wreath at the cremation site of Mahatma Gandhi, who he labelled a "giant of the 20th century".
Mr Albanese will also address the Indian Institute of Technology about opportunities to strengthen higher education links, holding a question and answer session with students.
The institute has partnerships with several Australian universities.
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