Penrith Panthers strolled to a 34-16 success against the St George Illawarra Dragons tonight at Suncorp Stadium.
Back in the side, Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary brought poise and composure to the Panthers who started sloppy but piled on six tries to put the Dragons out of their misery and out of the top eight projections for 2021.
Whilst the first half wasn't a vintage display from the Panthers, they overcame a terrible start which saw them complete only two of their first 10 sets before a blitz of points saw them take a 16-6 lead into the half-time break.
Bulldogs bound Brent Naden showed two passages of skill which turned the game. The centre turned winger took an intercept from Corey Norman to open the scoring then Naden found himself on the end of a smooth backline movement to make it 10-6.
Dragons lacked an attacking punch despite having a majority of the possession. Their only points in the first half came through Zac Lomax. In his second game since his return he provided a sublime flick pass for Mikaele Ravalawa to stroll over for his eighth try in six games at Suncorp.
Once Penrith found the accelerator it was a mere formality tonight. Matt Burton showed touches of class to put Dylan Edwards over for his second try of the contest before the centre took on a retreating Dragons defensive line to stretch the advantage further and give Bulldogs fans hope for 2022.
Dylan Edwards also relished having Nathan Cleary back as the fullback ran for over 217 metres alongside a pair of four-pointers. His first closed out the first half when he took on the line, spun like a top and slammed the ball down. Edwards has been one of the stars of this Panthers team and is a safe fullback which gets their sets started off well.
Tonight's result confirmed the Panthers can't finish any lower than third spot and can time their run towards back-to-back Grand Final appearances now. Paul Momirovski put the icing on the 18-point win as the utility back sliced through the Dragons flimsy defense.
After being on life support for several weeks, the Dragons finals chances have been terminated. The side has looked a shell of their former selves since the party incident saw a majority of the playing squad fined and suspended. Their attack was gobbled up repeatedly and offered nothing against a well-drilled Panthers side.
Once again, Dragons fans eye off next season. One bright spot was the 15 minute cameo from Talatau Amone. He came on in the final 15 minutes after Andrew McCullough's injury and set up two tries. The first was for fullback Jack Bird then Amone showed swift feet to beat several defenders and make the final score 34-16.