Game day guide: Women in League Round v Panthers
The St George Illawarra Dragons will face the Penrith Panthers at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane on Friday, August 13. This is your Women in League Round game day guide.
- Halves pairing retained for Panthers
- History-making siblings commit to Red V
- Everything you need to know about Women in League Round
History-making signings
Tyrell Fuimaono and Taliah Fuimaono will become the first-ever male and female siblings to play for the same NRL club, in a first for the game.
Tyrell has been in fine form of late for the Red V, highlighted by a try-scoring 80-minute performance against the Rabbitohs in Round 20.
His sister Taliah is yet to make her NRLW debut but represented the Indigenous All Stars earlier in the year.
Capping off a big week of signings was the official confirmation George Burgess will don the Red V in 2022. Burgess has 15 caps for England to date and will add plenty of size and power to the Dragons' forward pack.
Hook up against old club
Friday's match will mark the first time Anthony Griffin faces his former Panthers club.
'Hook' coached 72 games at the foot of the mountains prior to his departure in 2018; the likes of current players Dylan Edwards, Jarome Luai, Moses Leota, Viliame Kikau and Nathan Cleary all debuted under Griffin.
With injuries and suspensions wreaking havoc on Penrith, a win on Friday night will be extra sweet for our coach.
Three swaps define team news
The Dragons can finally put the suspensions from July's biosecurity breaches behind them.
A one-game suspension for a high tackle and a broken tooth leave Tariq Sims and Cody Ramsey on the sidelines hurt the team fortunes however.
Gerard Beale replaces Ramsey at centre while Tyrell Fuimaono slots straight into Sims's place in the back row.
Jack Bird retains his place at fullback after a solid outing last week, racking up an impressive 13 tackle breaks and 179 running metres.
Potential late Panther changes
The Panthers will be without star hooker Apisai Koroisau after he was found guilty at the judiciary but that may be offset by an even bigger name lingering in the reserves.
Nathan Cleary has worked hard over the previous few weeks rehabilitating a shoulder injury and is due to make his return to the NRL. He will be a late inclusion if he is able to play on Friday but won't be risked with Matt Burton and Luai performing well in the halves.
New recruit Tevita Pangai Jnr took leave last week for personal reasons and the club is yet to confirm whether he will be available this week. He is listed in the reserves and could also be a late inclusion.
Pointy end
It's crunch time in the NRL with just four games remaining in the regular season and plenty of teams still in the fight for finals.
The Dragons can climb as high as seventh on the ladder but the equation will become more difficult each week if victories don't occur soon.
Friday the 13th
Don’t be surprised if something spooky happens on Friday.
Our game happens to fall on Friday the 13th. A day that, while spooky for some, holds happy memories for Dragons fans.
The Dragons took on the Knights way back in 2012 on Friday the 13th and pulled off an eerily good performance to claim the win.
Jack De Belin is the only remaining player for the match where the Dragons summoned an unnerving 12-4 victory over the Knights.
