Round 2: Dragons v Panthers preview
Dragons paying tribute to an immortal against the defending premiers
St George Illawarra returns to Nestrata Jubilee Stadium for the first time since June 3 last year for their first home game of the season against the defending premiers, the Penrith Panthers.
It will be an emotional night for the Red V with a special tribute match to honour the 13th immortal Norm Provan who sadly passed away over the off-season. Provan played over 250 games for St George in their golden era and was an integral part of the 11 straight premiership triumphs by the Dragons from 1956-1966. Provan was also inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame in 2004 as well as being named in the ARL Team of the Century in 2008. It will be a touching night for all in attendance and Dragons fans will be hopeful the current players encapsulate the spirit of Norm ‘Sticks' Provan against the defending premiers. St George Illawarra will retire the number 9 jersey that Provan made famous over his illustrious career for this match.
St George Illawarra comes into their home opener following a 28-16 win over the New Zealand Warriors. Anthony Griffin would've been pleased with most aspects of their performance, especially the combinations between Tyrell Sloan and Ben Hunt who linked up on multiple occasions to place the Dragons in try-scoring situations. What could be a damaging sign of things to come was the lethal combination between Zac Lomax and Mikaele Ravalawa down the right edge, they gave Rocco Berry and Marcelo Montoya nightmares last week and will look to outmuscle their opposite numbers on Friday night.
What Hook wouldn't have been pleased with was the mini-collapse his team had before halftime after getting out to an early 12-0 lead. The Dragons slacked off in defence allowed many offloads and fell off many tackles, most notably Jack Gosiewski's efforts which led to Josh Curran bursting through to set up Wayde Egan's try. To the Dragons credit, they did bounce back well frustrating New Zealand by forcing brain snaps and lackadaisical play, which set up field position and allowed Mikaele Ravalawa to score his second career hat-trick.
St George Illawarra will be without Aaron Woods who left Saturday night's game moments after returning for his second stint with a hamstring injury. QLD origin rep Francis Molo gets his first starting opportunity at the Red V and will look to continue his great form to start 2022 with George Burgess being selected on the bench for his 150th NRL match. Tariq Sims is named on the extended bench but is unlikely to play.
Penrith was convincing on opening night defeating a much-fancied Manly side 28-6. Most pundits thought Penrith would struggle without Nathan Cleary, however, Sean O'Sullivan played his hand perfectly, setting up 2 tries and placing Manly under plenty of pressure with an effective kicking game. Their forward pack is among the best in the premiership with workhorses like James Fisher-Harris, Isaiah Yeo and Viliame Kikau who'll play his 100th game for the Panthers in this one. The forwards constantly get on top of their opposition and will give the reborn Dragons pack their toughest test thus far. Out wide, Izack Tago proved his doubters wrong with an excellent performance on the edges seamlessly sliding into Matt Burton's vacant centre spot.
Penrith will once again be without Nathan Cleary as he continues his rehab on his shoulder, Panthers officials are hoping he'll return in 2 weeks for the grand final rematch with South Sydney. Otherwise, the major injury concern is prop Moses Leota who left the field in the latter stages of the opening night win over Manly. Leota's shoulder hasn't responded to treatment and will be out for an indefinite period, a blow for a Penrith pack that was dominant against Manly. As a result, Spencer Leniu will be promoted to the run-on side with Matt Eisenhuth filling the vacancy on the bench.
Last meeting: Round 22 2021 - Dragons 16 Panthers 34
Who to watch: Many St George Illawarra fans found it surprising that Blake Lawrie was given a starting spot ahead of QLD representative Francis Molo. But he has repaid the faith coach Anthony Griffin has in him with an impressive performance to kick off season 2022. Lawrie's workload last weekend against the Warriors is a testament to the hard work he has put in over the offseason carrying the ball 15 times for 138m and 20 tackles in a solid 50-minute stint. Lawrie will have the tough task of matching it with Penrith's James Fisher-Harris, but if Lawrie can make inroads in Penrith's steel defence, he'll set up chances for the Dragons to attack Penrith's line.
The absence of Nathan Cleary for the first few rounds wasn't only going to place pressure on Sean O'Sullivan and Jarome Luai. One man who stepped up in a big way for Penrith was Dylan Edwards, who showed that he wasn't the handbrake in Penrith's attack many thought he was last season. When given open space, few fullbacks match his workload. An impressive opening match for the Penrith custodian carrying the football over 30 times for over 330m. This is mightily impressive considering he didn't play any trials and was playing his first match since returning from offseason foot surgery. Penrith will need Edwards to remain at his scintillating best if they want to remain undefeated before their prodigal son returns.
The favourite: With how well they dismantled Manly on opening night, Penrith will start short-priced favourites against the Dragons. St George Illawarra hasn't defeated Penrith since 2017 when the Dragons had a season sweep over the Panthers including a 42-10 thrashing at Kogarah.
My tip: It will be one emotional night at Kogarah as St George pay tribute to one of the best to have ever pulled on the famous Red V. However, the Panthers are just too strong in many areas and it will take a monumental effort from the Red V to pull off the upset. Look for Penrith to be dominant in defence denying the Dragons the opportunity to work it off their line, as they did against Manly last Thursday night. Penrith by 12.
