In fierce circumstances at BlueBet Stadium on Saturday night, the Dragons overcame the Panthers 22–10 thanks to an incredible second-half comeback in which they scored 22 points in a row.
After being down 10-0 at halftime and having to overcome a wall of defense, most of which was played while they were encamped on their own line, St George Illawarra started the second half with a clean break of the line and scored four tries in the following thirty-two minutes.
Against the Panthers, who lost on home ground for the first time since August of last year, it was the Red V’s first victory in seven games.
Penrith controlled the first twenty-five minutes, during which they possessed the most of the ball. However, they were unable to create any momentum because of both a high turnover rate and a strong opposing defense.
Paul Alamoti eventually broke through from close range to score the first goal, and ten minutes later, young winger Jesse McLean managed to stay in the game after he grabbed an uncontested bomb.
Alamoti’s second shot went off the post, but he made it from the sideline, giving his team a 10-0 advantage at halftime.
On the first carry of the second half, Sione Finau broke through the heart of Penrith’s defense, and minutes later, Toby Couchman went over to put the Dragons back in the game.
The visitors took the lead thanks to a Tyrell Sloan goal and a second Kyle Flanagan conversion, and for the following twenty minutes, it was an arm wrestling from end to end.
The Red V took a step closer to victory as Mathew Feagai broke tackles to get to the corner, but the conversion attempt that followed struck the upright, keeping the score at one.
But with eight minutes remaining, a cunning captain’s challenge saw the Dragons reverse a call that would have given Penrith possession of the ball and earn them a penalty when an offside player was discovered during the review. Raymond Faitala-Mariner then delivered the game-winning try shortly after, his first of the year.
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