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Coach Keith Wright finally got his wish. After the second game where his dropkickers were 3 for 21, this game they were 4 for 5, unfortunately however that was all the scoring they got in a 17-12 humiliation at the hands of the Viscount Bennett Imperialists.

The Dragons started off well, scoring 3 drop kicks in the opening 19 minutes, however lost in all of this was the intensity that the Dragons are renowned for in their pact.

'It was like they were a completely different team', quipped one fan about the play of the Dragons after the match. Another disgruntled Dragon lamented that, 'I long for the team that would steamroll over the competition, what I saw today was a kicking display where they should have been putting on ballet shoes'.

Indeed a kicking display was put on by both team in the match, especially in the second half, however it was the Imperialists who were superior in this department, at least at getting field position. On more than one occasion the Dragons kicked the ball out on the full outside of their 22.

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'I do not understand their fascination with dropkicking...'

-Imperialist coach in reference to the Dragons recent strategy shift.

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The first score for Viscount Bennett however happened due to another Dragon miscue when the ball one hoped out of bounds around the Imperialist forty. The Imperialists made a quick throw in while the Dragons were still making their way over to the touch line, and then raced down the field for an easy try to bring the Imperialists to within two points at 9-7. Prior to the end of the first half the Dragons were given another opportunity to get a score with a penalty around the thirty yard line. An easy penalty kick made the score 12-7 going into the half.

In the second half the Imperialists came out flying while the Dragons looked just flat. Coupled with this energy was the Imperialists ability to win more of the scrums in the second half and get the ball out to their backs who began a kick and chase exhibition until in the 56th minute they were able to gather a loose ball and run it in for their second score of the game, which with the convert gave them a 14-12 lead.

In the 63rd minute the Dragon defense had again for the most part broken down but were able to hold the Imperialists for a while just outside their 22 until a drop kick by one of the Imperialist backs put the score up to 17-12 for the Imperialists. This drop kick would prove to be the winner as though the Dragons pushed late in the game, they were unable to get the ball through to the try line.

After the match the Dragons made mention of different areas of their game that they could have improved upon, however it was the observations of the Imperialist coach that probably most isolated their problem. 'I do not understand their fascination with dropkicking the ball when a hard enough push would probably have given them a try on at least 2 occasions during the match', he was quoted as saying. Coach Wright will hopefully observe these words as the Dragons prepare for their next match at home against their cross town rival Blues.

Meanwhile in other league games from yesterday:

-In Lenita, the Athens Invaders were crushed by the Legions 35-10 in a game where 4 tries were scored by the Legions in the first half alone.

-In Locke Harbour South, the Blues were absolutely demolished by the Pearson Cliffs Pirates in a one sided affair.

-In the city of Magna Carta, the Peace Warriors disappointed the home crowd with their 17-3 victory over the Crusaders.

-In Workers Point, the Stanislav Lions were able to score a last second dropkick to give them the victory over a Bobcat squad that had dominated the Lions for most of the match, leading by 14 points midway through the second half.

While the Imperialists were running the ball, the Dragons could only garner points off drop kicks and penalties in their loss yesterday.