NRL News Friday Night Football
Dragons 28 def Panthers 16
It was park football at it’s worst. Two seriously out of form teams slugging it out at Oki Jubilee Stadium tonight.
The ugly war was won by the Dragons. Penrith were probably slightly more deserving of the win, but the Dragons pushed away at the death and recorded only their 2nd win of the season.
The Dragons had their stars back: Head, Ryles, Young and Coopes were all their – but their stylish form of yesteryear was still no where to be seen. Dropped balls, failed passing movements and general loss of focus were regular events for the Dragons tonight.
For the Panthers, they can’t go much lower. Totally devoid of structure – they bombed several certain tries and will severely lack confidence moving forward. Elliott was trying to be upbeat at the press conference, but admits the pressure from the media is eating at him.
Creagh and Young were the standouts for the Dragons, for the Panthers only Luke Lewis could hold his head up high. Gordon did put in some nice movements in attack and kicked well, but had a few slight errors in defence. Surely the promised personnel changes at Penrith will be followed through this week, with threats to drop several stars not implemented tonight – and the last chance provided by Elliott to some senior players has been thrown back in his face.