Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 21 clash between the Panthers and Dragons.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
St George Illawarra Dragons Vs Penrith Panthers
Venue: WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Date: Sunday July 28, 2pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Dragons: 1. Tyrell Sloan, 2. Zac Lomax, 3. Moses Suli, 4. Max Feagai, 5. Christian Tuipulotu, 6. Kyle Flanagan, 7. Ben Hunt, 8. Francis Molo, 9. Jacob Liddle, 10. Jack de Belin, 11. Raymond Faitala-Mariner, 12. Jaydn Su’A, 13. Tom Eisenhuth, 14. Hame Sele, 15. Luciano Leilua, 16. Toby Couchman, 17. Ben Murdoch-Masila, 18. Mathew Feagai, 19. Blake Lawrie, 20. Jack Bird, 21. Fa’amanu Brown, 22. Mikaele Ravalawa
Panthers: 1. Daine Laurie, 2. Sunia Turuva, 3. Izack Tago, 4. Casey McLean, 5. Brian To’o, 6. Jarome Luai, 7. Nathan Cleary, 8. Moses Leota, 9. Mitch Kenny, 10. James Fisher-Harris, 11. Scott Sorensen, 12. Liam Martin, 13. Isaah Yeo, 14. Trent Toelau, 15. Lindsay Smith, 16. Liam Henry, 17. Mavrik Geyer, 18. Matt Eisenhuth, 19. Jack Cole, 20. Brad Schneider, 21. Isaiah Iongi, 23. Luke Sommerton
Referee: Gerard Sutton
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
Jarome Luai, Isaah Yeo, Liam Martin, and Brian To’o are all back for the Panthers after being rested following the Origin decider, but Dylan Edwards remains out after injuring his knee in that match. Liam Henry drops back to the bench, with Matt Eisenhuth and Brad Schneider dropping to the reserves, and Luron Patea left out of the squad.
The Dragons, who are coming off a bye, will also have their Origin representatives back, with Zac Lomax and Ben Hunt returning to the side. Jesse Marschke and Mikaele Ravalawa is the pair to make way. Raymond Faitala-Mariner is also back after missing the Broncos game due to injury, with Luciana Leilua shifting back to the bench and Jack Bird named as 18th Man.
St George faces an incredibly tough two weeks as they look to return to finals for the first time since 2018, with the Storm to come following this match against the defending premiers. The Dragons are much improved in 2024, sitting just outside the top eight on points difference, but the next fortnight will determine if they can make any noise come finals.
For the Panthers, they snuck away with a Golden Point victory over the Dolphins last week, with Nathan Cleary barely missing a beat in his first game back from a hamstring injury. Cleary nailed a long-range two-point field goal in crunch time as Penrith came back from a 26-12 deficit.
With the Panthers back at full strength and Cleary barely missing a beat in his return, the Dragons will have their work cut out for them. They can take some confidence from a 22-10 win at BlueBet Stadium in round 13, albeit against an understrength Penrith side.
Also working in the Dragons’ favour is a perfect record at WIN Stadium this year, while the Panthers have not won at the venue since 2014. However, this is the time of the year when Penrith typically reach their peak, and as they head into finals, they should be too strong.
Head-to-head stats can be found at Number Crunch Stats.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Check out all the NRL Predictions here.
Panthers by 16 points.
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