ST GEORGE Illawarra's Kogarah homecoming gave the crowd of more than 20,000 the result they wanted - a win over neighbours Cronulla Sharks - despite the narrowness of the scores (10-6) at Jubilee Oval on Sunday.
The crowd hushed when former Dragons international Trent Barrett went down, then gave him a standing ovation when he was stretchered from the field with a neck injury.
Barrett was cleared of serious injury and released from St George Hospital Sunday night, before being driven to his south coast home, although he is to undergo further testing.
"Oh no, not again,'' were the thoughts of Cronulla medico Dr David Givney, a fortnight after going through the same meticulous routine for injured prop Ben Ross, who has been ruled out of all contact sport for between 9-12 months, after rupturing a disc in his neck.
Speaking to the Leader this morning, Givney said he initially "feared the worst'' when Barrett collided with Sharks young centre Blake Ferguson, while making a tackle early in the 10ty minute of the second half, with the Dragons holding a 6-0 lead.
"He complained his right arm was `no good' and that he lacked feeling in his right leg, so I immediately thought: `Oh no','' said Givney.
"But he remained calm, he wasn't in excruciating pain like before, but I knew we had to keep his neck still, get a brace on as quickly as possible and carefully move him onto the Dragons' club's spinal board.''
Fourteen minutes later, the Sharks equalised through a try to winger David Simmons and a Luke Covell sideline conversion, before a ben Creagh try six minutes later gave the Dragons the 10-6 scoreline, which they held until the final 80th minute.
After a game remembered for some uncompromising defence, most players on both sides were carrying bumps and bruises, with Dragons centre Matt Cooper (hamstring) the most concern after coming off in the first half, and rival Sharks centre Blake Ferguson (groin) the major injury concerns.
The Dragons have a quick turnaround before flying to Brisbane for coach Wayne Bennett's return game on Friday night against the Brisbane Broncos - the team he coached for a record 21 years - with former Bronco Wendell Sailor on board.
The Sharks will have half Brett Seymour and winger Misi Taulapapa back for Sunday's game against the Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium, but Barrett will join Ross and fullback Brett Kearney (sidelined for 20 weeks) on the injury list, if only for a week or two.
See the Leader's website Tuesday for a local derby slideshow.
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