NRL: Dragons' Kiwi winger plays it safe

Jason Nightingale, pictured scoring last night, says the Dragons were relaxed at half-time despite being behind. Photo / Getty Images

Jason Nightingale wasn't taking any chances with his premiership ring after scoring two vital tries to help the Dragons beat the Roosters to end a 31-year hoodoo in last night's NRL grand final.

Worried he might lose it in the post-match throng that engulfed him and his team-mates, he slipped it straight onto his finger.

Given the slick handing he displayed to turn a couple of average passes into points more precious than the gold on his finger, it's hard to imagine the boom Kiwis winger worrying about dropping his new prize.

Dragons fullback Darius Boyd walked off with the Clive Churchill Medal for man of the match but after turning the game with a couple of pieces of classic opportunistic wing play, Nightingale must have been in the reckoning.

"I put it on so I wouldn't lose it," he said, proudly brandishing his ring.

"I was scared about walking around the crowd and having a few people grab at it, so I put it on straight away."

Nightingale, who must be a certainty to be named in Stephen Kearney's Kiwis squad tomorrow, dedicated his performance to his grandparents and family back home in Mt Maunganui.

The Dragons trailed 8-6 at the break before Nightingale stepped inside Kane Linnett and raced away to score a try that put the Dragons into a lead they would never relinquish.

"It was just good to get ahead," he said. "We are fairly good front runners and mentally, to see that 12-8 score was good for our team."

There was better to come, with Nightingale scooping up an errant pass and driving his way over in the corner in the 60th minute.

"We came out a bit nervous, made a lot of errors," he said. "But we came in at half time and ... we were all pretty relaxed and confident ... We knew we were only two points down, which is not a massive margin."

Two more tries to Dean Young and Nathan Fien and the unerring boot of Jamie Soward meant Nightingale and his team-mates had plenty of time to savour their success as the final hooter approached.

"The relief, all the work we had done to deserve to be where we were, it was just a lot of relief," he said.

Throwing off the chokers tag the Dragons inherited after failing to win a title in 31 years - and bowing out tamely as the minor premiers last year - was particularly satisfying.

"We have copped a lot of [stick] and I think a lot of it is undeserved," he said. "You can't put 30 years of history down to a team that has been there for two years. It was good to put that to rest and silence the critics, definitely."

HOW THE GAME WAS WON

Key moment: Dean Young's try in the 63rd minute stretched the lead to 16 points and proved insurmountable for the brave Roosters as the rain poured down.

Man of the Match: Darius Boyd may have missed out on the Dally M, but he got the result he wanted - a Clive Churchill medal and grand final victory.

Injuries: Dragon Michael Weyman left the field in the first half with concussion and didn't return. Roosters' big man Jason Ryles departed late in the game with a leg injury, while Todd Carney also suffered a leg injury but played out the 80 minutes.

Quote: "There's nothing better than this. They said we couldn't do it and our attack sucked. Our defence won it today. They'll probably find something else to bag us about, but we're champions this year." - Dragons five-eighth Jamie Soward fires back at critics who said the Dragons played boring football and didn't win big games.

Judiciary: Rooster Daniel Conn on report for a high shot on Michael Weyman.

What's Next: Extended holidays for both teams - with St George Illawarra starting the off-season savouring a premiership win, while the Roosters can think about where it all went wrong.