ST GEORGE Illawarra are one win away from a grand final after toppling minor premiers Canterbury 46-20 in their sudden-death NYC final last night.
The Dragons shocked the competition heavyweights with a dominant performance, aided by the Bulldogs' lack of discipline and execution.
Helped by some scintillating support work from fullback Adam Quinlan, the Red V under 20s cruised to an 18-6 half-time lead.
After withstanding a 20-minute Canterbury resurgence, the Dragons picked up the pace at the hour mark to run away with the game - their second 40-plus point haul in as many weeks.
A trifecta to Quinlan, as well as doubles to Blake Phillips and Nathan Green, sealed the win and set up a finals date with Canberra next week.
The Bulldogs had early problems in defence and it wasn't long before St George Illawarra started asking questions.
Some ingenuity from hooker Craig Garvey helped the Dragons to first points nine minutes in, but Canterbury replied through wirey fullback Pat Templeman.
However, ongoing errors from the minor premiers, including 30 missed first-half tackles, saw the Dragons continue to hold field position and possession.
Quinlan ran on to the end of a 50-metre break from Nathan Green to grab his first try and re-establish his side's advantage.
The Culburra junior then crossed again five minutes later with some superb support play through the middle, handing the Dragons a 18-6 advantage at the break.
It was more of the same in the second stanza. The Bulldogs lacked the vigour and execution which has earned them heavyweight status for much of the season.
Nathan Green muscled his way through the Canterbury defence to score from a Jared Allen break.
The blue-and-whites cut the lead back through tries to Edward Murphy (two) and David Minute, but they failed to match the Dragons.
Justin Holbrook's men iced the win with tries to Phillips, Green and Quinlan, the latter who finished with a tally of 26 points.
