Individual moments of experience and youth have seen the St George Illawarra Dragons claim a gritty 12-6 win over the Wests Tigers in a Sunday afternoon thriller at Wollongong.
Overcoming a halftime deficit to reach a 50 per cent record after eight rounds, the Dragons posted their third win in succession to the delight of 16,110 supporters - the largest regular season crowd at WIN Stadium in four years.
In a tightly-fought opening 40 minutes where points proved elusive, the Tigers appeared to strike a blow midway through proceedings with Kelma Tuilagi leaping onto a Luke Brooks bomb, only for the bunker to overturn the try due to grounding.
Gaining minor consolation with the bunker adjudicating interference from Zac Lomax in the contest, Jackson Hastings added a penalty goal from next to the posts to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
Coming close to scoring late in the half through returning winger Asu Kepaoa and try-less prop Alex Twal, the Tigers showed their attacking intentions by knocking back the chance to increase their lead by two on several occasions.
Returning from the sheds with similar intensity but unable to break their fellow joint venture's line, momentum began to swing against the Tigers following five minutes of sustained pressure from the Dragons on their own line.
Eventually breaking through via a solo effort from Ben Hunt (56th minute), the Dragons captain took on the line with a step to take a 6-2 lead.
Securing the result after the Tigers knocked on inside their own half, Jayden Sullivan (69th minute) darted from dummy half to slam the ball down in his first appearance of the season.
Having opted against taking on the line himself earlier in the half, Luke Brooks (75th minute) made amends with a solo effort from close range to set up a grandstand finish.
Needing to score a converted try to send the game into golden point following a wayward conversion attempt from Hastings, the Tigers ultimately fell short despite forcing several repeat sets in the final minutes.
Next week, the Dragons will face the Storm at AAMI Park on Sunday afternoon, while the Tigers take on the Sea Eagles at Lottoland on Saturday afternoon