NRL 2024: St George Illawarra Dragons win 22-10 over Penrith Panthers

Missing skipper Ben Hunt, the situation looked dire for the Dragons at the break. But a halftime spray from coach Shane Flanagan inspired a stunning second half comeback over the Panthers.

The Dragons scored four unanswered tries in the second half in a stunning comeback win over the Panthers. Picture: Getty Images

A halftime spray by coach Shane Flanagan was the catalyst in St George Illawarra’s come from behind win against Penrith on Saturday evening at the foot of the mountains.

The Dragons were down 10-0 and were being dominated by the champions and Flanagan let them know at halftime what he thought of their efforts.

“It wasn’t pretty, especially to a few individuals,” Flanagan said.

“We definitely needed halftime and I needed to get them into the room and to their credit they responded very well.

“You’ve probably only got two or three (sprays) per year and I’ve used one.”

Stand in Dragons skipper Jack De Belin said his men deserved the bake they got from the coach.

“It was needed,” De Belin said.

“He was only speaking the truth and he was honest.”

The Dragons scored four unanswered tries in the second half in a stunning comeback win over the Panthers. Picture: Getty Images

The Dragons came out in the second half and scored 22 unanswered points to break their Penrith hoodoo.

It was the first time in seven years the Dragons defeated the Panthers after the three-time defending premiers put in a shocker of a second half.

Backrowers Raymond Faitala-Mariner and Luciano Leilua ran riot for the Dragons.

The pair combined for 10 tackle breaks as the Penrith pack struggled to contain them in the 22-10 win.

“It’s his (Faitala-Mariner) best game for the club,” Flanagan said.

“He was back on the right edge and I know he likes playing there and every time he carried the football he was hard to handle.

“He was the one who could hold his head up for the whole game.”

The loss of Moses Leota in the first half with hamstring tightness was a big blow for the premiers.

Coach Ivan Cleary said he couldn’t risk his front rower doing further damage.

“There was no way I was going to risk him tonight. It was my decision (not to bring him back on). I wasn’t going to risk it all tonight,” Cleary said.

On a night where classy Origin stars were missing, the Dragons decided to go through the front door of Penrith.

“I’m just glad I’ve got a team with a bit of character. Other teams might have thought it was a bit too hard at Penrith down 10-0,” Flanagan said.

EXPERIENCE COUNTS

With five Origin stars not playing, along with the injured Nathan Cleary, the Panthers fielded a very inexperienced team and it showed in the second half.

The Dragons had all the momentum and the young Penrith side couldn’t figure out how to wrestle it back.

Without Isaah Yeo, the Panthers struggled to find a way to get on top.

“We had a lot of inexperience tonight and there were a few lessons to be learned,” Cleary said.

“There were times where we just needed to settle and steady but we just couldn’t do that.”

Shane Flanagan needs to figure out how to get the best out of fullback Tyrell Sloan. Picture: Getty Images

SLOAN ISSUE

Shane Flanagan has won a premiership as coach but he’s going to have his work cut out in getting Tyrell Sloan to be a top all-round player.

Sloan glides over the ground like a young Greg Inglis when he runs the ball, with a smooth athletic action.

But the similarities end there.

Earlier in the season Flanagan was publicly critical of Sloan’s toughness after he moved him to the wing mid-game against Newcastle.

The Jesse McLean try showed the ugly side to Sloan’s game when he didn’t fully compete for the ball as the more determined McLean put full effort into making a catch and scoring.

Sloan would have got to the ball first had he been putting in the same effort as McLean.

“I would’ve liked him to get to it a lot earlier,” Flanagan said.

“Sloany said to me after the game that he needed to land on him. You can’t hope in football. He thought it was going to go out but it didn’t.

“He knew he made a mistake there.”

His great talent has taken him to first grade level, but if Sloan’s going to play 200-plus top-line matches he’ll need to find more determination.

Originally published as NRL 2024: St George Illawarra Dragons win 22-10 over Penrith Panthers