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The St George Illawarra Dragons have held on in an incredibly tight tussle with a two-point victory over the Penrith Panthers.
Points were scarce in the first half with Jason Nightingale denied an early try after it was ruled he illegally stripped the ball of Waqa Blake with Timoteo Lafai coming into the tackle just miliseconds before he took possession from the Fijian.
The Dragons scored soon after however with a penalty goal in the 11th minute to put them in front by two points.
The home side were gifted a massive opportunity spending five minutes deep in the Panthers’ half after Penrith gave away penalties galore however, the Red V were unable to break the mountain men’s defensive line and took the 2-0 lead at half-time.
The scores were soon levelled with Jamie Soward putting a penalty goal over two minutes into the second half.
The first try of the match finally came in the 53rd minute with Euan Aitken going over to put the Dragons in front 8-2 however, Peta Hiku went over just eight minutes later to once again level the scores.
With ten minutes remaining, Will Smith was taken from the field joining Bryce Cartwright on the sideline after Joel Thompson was put on report for a shoulder charge with Josh Mansour scoring in the corner to put the visitor’s in front for the first time in the match 12-8 three minutes later.
Jamie Soward was unable to convert which proved costly as Josh Dugan went over just three minutes later to put the Dragons in front 14-12.
St George Illawarra held that lead as the Panthers had one last attempt after Mike Cooper was put on report for a crusher tackle on Mansour but the joint venture managed to hold on for their second win in a row.
Josh Dugan, Jack de Belin, Mitch Rein, Tyson Frizell, Mike Cooper and Gareth Widdop all starred for the Dragons while Trent Merrin led the way for the Panthers with Peter Wallace, Isaah Yeo, Josh Mansour and Jamie Soward also showing strong signs.
The Dragons will now head north to Townsville where they will take on the North Queensland Cowboys as they commence a three-week journey through Queensland before returning to Sydney for the annual Anzac Day clash.
The Penrith Panthers meanwhile will be boosted by the likely return of captain Matt Moylan when they head to Parramatta to take on the Eels in a Western Sydney derby next Sunday afternoon.
Final score
St George Illawarra Dragons 14
Penrith Panthers 12
Rugby league returns to Wollongong and Trent Merrin prepares to face his old team the St George Illawarra Dragons when the Penrith Panthers head south to WIN Stadium. Join The Roar from 4pm (AEDT) for live coverage.
Merrin has overcome glandular fever which saw him sidelined in the chocolate soldiers’ 23-22 win over premiership favourites the Brisbane Broncos at Pepper Stadium last Saturday.
Merrin will be eager to run out against the club which nurtured him as a junior as the Panthers look to build on last week’s performance led by rookie Te Maire Martin who scored a try, set one up and kicked the winning field goal on debut.
Merrin returns for Penrith alongside Waqa Blake which sees Isaah Yeo move back into the second row while Elijah Taylor and Tyrone Peachey drop to the bench. Jeremy Latimore will miss the match with a suspension while James Fisher-Harris has been named on an extended bench.
Dragons coach Paul McGregor has made no changes to his side after the Red V defeated the South Sydney Rabbitohs in a gritty win in wet weather at the Sydney Cricket Ground 8-6.
Gareth Widdop led the way for the joint venture while their forward pack also stepped up with Mitch Rein, Jack de Belin and Tyson Frizell all prominent with McGregor expecting them to once again lead from the front while he will also be hoping that Joel Thompson and Russell Packer take on a greater role with both unimpressive against Souths.
Josh McCrone will also be asked to improve on his performance from last week as he struggled in replacing Benji Marshall on his debut for St George Illawarra.
The Dragons and Panthers have met a total of 29 times since St George and Illawarra entered their first season as a joint venture in 1999.
The Red V have won the majority of matches with 17 compared to the mountain men’s 12.
In 2015 they played each other just once with the Dragons winning 19-12 in the ‘Gong during Round 24.
Prediction
Josh McCrone will take on a larger role with the Dragons forwards to provide greater input and deliver the Red V their second consecutive win.
Dragons by four
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