‘Wasn’t pretty’: Shane Flanagan ‘spray’ sparks seven-year Dragons first against Panthers

St George Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan has delivered one of the all-time halftime bakes against Penrith — and it couldn’t have gone better.

Shane Flanagan inspired his team with an all-time bake. Photo: Fox Sports and Getty Images

A game of two halves has seen the St George Illawarra Dragons steamroll the three-time defending champion Penrith Panthers 22-10 at Bluebet Stadium on Saturday night.

In a game without five Panthers and three Dragons through Origin duty, it looked like Penrith were going to do what they have done over the past four seasons when players are out, taking a 10-0 lead at halftime.

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But the second 40 saw all the traffic heading in the opposite direction as the Dragons hit the ground running.

The first hit up of the second 40 was a sign of things to come after winger Sione Finau raced through the Panthers’ defence and was finally brought down for the first tackle on the 50m line.

From that moment on, it was all Dragons as the visitors hit the lead in the 48th minute and kept the Panthers scoreless in the second half, running in four unanswered tries.

It’s not only the Dragons’ first win at Penrith since 2017 but their first win over the Panthers since then.

In commentary on Fox League, the question was whether Dragons coach Shane Flanagan had flipped his lid at the break, which his son and five-eighth Kyle Flanagan confirmed.

“I’m not sure if it was a pep talk but definitely a spray I think,” Kyle said when speaking with Fox Sports.

Unfortunately the Fox League cameras weren’t in the sheds at the break, but the coach himself confirmed it got heated in the changerooms.

Fox Sports’ Lara Pitt said: “I just want to know what you said at halftime.”

Flanagan replied: “No you don’t.

Shane Flanagan earned his money today. Photo: Fox Sports

“It wasn’t pretty was it?” he said to captain Jack de Belin, “especially to a few individuals.

“But I was really disappointed with how we played the first half, just turning the football over. It was awful. We just didn’t give ourselves a chance.

“We needed the break, definitely needed halftime and I needed to get them into the room and to their credit, they responded really well.”

Asked if it was the first time he had blown up, de Belin chuckled as Flanagan said: “I’ve done a few. Probably only got two or three a year and I’ve used one.”

Flanagan said it was “just awful”, calling out his side’s consistency.

De Belin was asked about the spray, saying: “It was needed, he was only speaking the truth and it was honest. We got the result it was after so it was needed to be honest.”

Backrowers Raymond Faitala-Mariner and Luciano Leilua heard their coach’s blow up and ran riot for the Dragons in the second half.

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

“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 seven-year hoodoo is over. Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images

Not what the NRL is used to from Penrith. Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images

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.”

But there was a bright spot for the Panthers after second-game winger Jesse McLean scored a tremendous try just before halftime.

Chasing a bomb that the Dragons appeared to believe was going over the sideline, the winger tiptoed down the sideline, catching the ball and ducking in under the tackle of Dragons winger Tyrell Sloane to score a brilliant try.

“It’s a brilliant try and it started down the other end of the field where he accelerates hard into the defensive line,” Fox Sports commentator Michael Ennis said.

“He’s out-competed them. There’s their (Penrith’s) system right there.

“It’s a hell of a catch and it’s a hell of a try from young Jesse McLean. That is brilliant.”

With Matt Jones, NCA Newswire