The St George Illawarra Dragons registered two crucial NRL points on Monday evening, easily defeating the Gold Coast Titans 30-12 in their round two fixture at WIN Stadium.
The win released some of the pressure on coach Nathan Brown who before kick-off revealed he would stay true to his halves combination of Jamie Soward and Rangi Chase irrespective of the team's form.
The pair repaid the favour, heavily involved in four of the Dragons' five tries with the supreme kicking game of Soward a shining light on a wet and cold night in Wollongong.
The 23-year-old half-back said Brown had worked with him during the week and was boosted by the confidence of his coach.
"It's the best thing a coach can say to you, he said to me tonight 'just go out there and play, you wouldn't be here if you couldn't play'," Soward told Fox Sports.
"[Brown said] 'just go out there and do the things you do best' and I thought I was alright with my kicking tonight and I was happy with it."
Soward launched numerous air raids on the inexperienced Titans wingers with his towering left foot bombs, one of which gave the Dragons the lead immediately after half-time.
With the scores at 6-6, Jason Nightingale touched down when Jordan Atkins and full-back Preston Campbell misjudged a swirling Soward high ball only three minutes after the restart.
Chase then had a hand in St George's next try three minutes later, when a deliberate grubber early in the tackle count picked out Mark Gasnier who stretched the lead to 12.
Making the red and white number six his own, Chase put the match out of the Gold Coast's reach stepping his way through the Titan's goal-line defence nearly untouched with 17 minutes remaining.
Soward capped of the match and his brilliant night with the boot, chipping precisely into the in-goal for Matt Cooper to grab his second after he opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a display of strength and quick footwork close to the line.
The Titans never looked liked mounting a serious challenge despite drawing level 15 minutes before the break when a switch of play by half-back Scott Prince and some great hands by Anthony Laffranchi put hooker Nathan Friend over for his first NRL try.
A sly grubber by Prince on the hour mark saw Mark Minichiello grab a four-pointer with no full-back in sight, bringing the score to 24-12.
But poor handling in the difficult conditions and a slither of possession continually hampered any chances of a rare Titans road win.
Dragons: 30 (M Cooper 2, J Nightingale, M Gasnier, R Chase tries; J Soward 3, Gasnier conversions; Soward penalty)
Titans: 12 (N Friend, M Minichiello tries; S Prince 2 conversions)
Source: By Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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