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The Penrith Panthers have put in one of the most complete performances of the season to come away from the top of the table clash as the victors, with all the spoils.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
St George Illawarra Dragons 2
Penrith Panthers 28
The Penrith Panthers are flying high at the precipice of the summit of the top of the table and one of two in-form teams in the competition, and they welcome the only team that sits above them this season, the other in form team, the St George Illawarra Dragons. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 7:35pm (AEST).
At the beginning of the season, if you had your money on the top of the table match occurring this round, you would have likely pencilled in the Broncos vs Eels match that was played on Thursday night.
However, while those two teams scrap to make the top eight (or even win a game), instead, it is two teams that little was expected from who are battling for ladder topping supremacy.
The Panthers it must be said have been workmanlike this season, but the thing about a good workman is that they get things done: no frills, nothing fancy, they just go about their business and do what needs to be done.
It is no surprise that the Panthers are playing the way they are, given that the NSW Blues five-eighth incumbent is steering the team around the park, and with the added spark of starlet Nathan Cleary.
The Dragons meanwhile, this was supposed to be the re-build year. If they finished above the bottom four was going to be a success story. They managed to win during March and April, but after that, this team was supposed to run out of puff and fold.
Not so. In fact, the Dragons are playing with a discipline and execution that the merger club has not seen in abundance, not even during their premiership year of 2010.
While the backline for the Dragons doesn’t exactly get the pulse racing, it’s in the halves that you realise just how potent they are, with the experience and skill of Ben Hunt and Gareth Widdop more than a fair match up for their opposing halves.
The Dragons are a team built on forward power, with the bulldozing, but still agile, weaponry of Frizell, De Belin, Vaughan, Sims, and Graham who can run, run hard, and keep the ball moving, and all of whom (the Englishman aside) are in the Origin conversation.
If not for the blistering and untouchable form of Damian Cook, you’d almost think Cameron McInnes was a near certainty for an Origin call up himself.
This is a match that is going to be decided on attack, and who can make the most of their chances, because these two, to date this season, are the best in the defensive business.
The Panthers having conceded 166 points, the Dragons only 164, so given that these two teams know how to keep teams out, it may well come down to which halves pairing can be the smartest that will win the day.
Add in the little issue of Origin selection, with the Panthers pairing having something to prove, and this match has the ingredients for being everything you want in football.
It should be a ripper!
Prediction
Do I back the Dragons because they are on top, or the Panthers because they are at home? 1 vs 2, and it is a close call. I will tip the Dragons, because they have continually proven the ability to win in any circumstances, though I will probably change my mind about 50 times during the game as to who I think will get the job done.
Dragons by 1.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of the match from 7:35pm (AEST) and don’t forget to add your own comments in the section below.
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