A perfect first half saw the Dragons finish atop the Panthers 26-10 at BlueBet Stadium on Saturday afternoon to notch their fourth consecutive Knock-On Effect NSW Cup win.
With both sides down a handful of regulars, it was the Dragons who jumped out to a 20-0 halftime lead before showcasing a steady period of defence late to hold off the fast-finishing Panthers.
Match: Panthers v Dragons
Round 13 -
home Team
Panthers
4th Position
away Team
Dragons
6th Position
Venue: BlueBet Stadium, Penrith
It was Josh Coric who grabbed the first points of the encounter for the visitors after a heads-up offload courtesy of front row partner Alec Tuitavake with Jonah Glover nailing the conversion to make it 6-0.
Christian Tuipulotu broke into the backfield shortly after to send the Dragons straight back onto the attack with Mikaele Ravalawa finishing the sequence off thanks to a last tackle sweep play laid on by Savelio Tamale.
The Fijian international made it look easy dispatching of Panthers fullback Isaiah Iongi with an unrelenting bump to cross over in the right corner and make it 10-0.
The Dragons managed to repel several Panthers attacking sets before wrestling possession back via a successful short dropout.
A determined Tamale kick return earnt the Dragons a penalty soon after to see them surge back onto the attack only for an ill-timed error to put an end to the raid.
The Dragons snagged their third try of the afternoon just seven minutes short of the break after Hayden Buchanan, in his first Knock-On Effect NSW Cup outing, bumped his way into space and sent Tuipulotu sliding over in the left corner.
The score remained 14-0 with Glover’s conversion attempt waved away from the left touchline.
Tom Freebairn got his name on the scoresheet moments short of the halftime siren nudging his way over next to the sticks off some neat Haele Finau work as the lead ballooned out to 20-0.
The Dragons’ hot attack continued into the second half with Glover plucking a superb Ravalawa banana kick out of the air off the back of a right edge raid to dive over before converting his own try to make it 26-0 with a half hour to play.
A Dragons error saw the hosts get on the board soon after through Jordan Grant who crashed over under the sticks to make it 26-6.
Knock-On Effect NSW Cup Highlights: Round 13
The hosts ate into the lead further not along after with Harrison Hassett pouncing on a Zack Lamont grubber down the left corridor.
The Panthers refused to yield in their fightback attempt but the visitors’ defence was unwavering through the final stages of contest pulling off a number of spirited stops en route to their fourth win on the trot.
