Panthers vs Dragons Round 10 recap

Another fantastic week in the NRL came to a close with the middle of the pack Dragons heading to Centrebet Stadium to take on the struggling Panthers. Coming into the game with just two wins on the season, the Dragons were heavy favourites, but a turbulent week with upset wins to the Titans and Sharks reminded us all that anything can happen in this competition. This was emphasised further as the Panthers overcame the odds, a golden point field goal off the boot of fullback Lachlan Coote sealing a 13-12 victory.

It was a familiar story for the Red V as their anaemic attack once again failed to deliver. The Dragons, who currently have the third lowest points for in the competition, would have to wait until the 66^th minute until they finally got their account underway. Admittedly they were without the services of pivot Jamie Soward, but this inability to score points has been a problem plaguing them all season. Their backline features some classy players with the likes of Cooper, Nightingale, Morris, but the team seems incapable of breaking the line. Very rarely do you see a Dragons player slice his way through the line or take a gap and break into open field. The Dragons deep, structured attack often amounts to little more than drifting left side to right side with few results. They’re being exposed as a one trick pony on attack, if teams shut that structured game plan down, they have nothing else up their sleeve.  Defensively they are solid and capable of grinding out victories, but if they don’t figure out how to start scoring some points, they aren’t going to amount to much this season. In 7 out of their 10 games this year they’ve failed to crack 20 points, in 3 of those they couldn’t even crack double digits. Trent Merrin turned in the type of effort that has seen him snare a NSW jersey this year with over 190 metres and 30 tackle, a tremendously busy night he was also the source of what little spark the Dragons attack had in offering 4 offloads which weren’t fully capitalized on. The thought of seeing the likes of Morris or Cooper linking up with a couple of those offloads sounds like the recipe for the points that the Dragons are starving for.

I do not wish to take away from the efforts of the Panthers tonight, but the Dragons really do make a good defensive effort look like a great one. That said, the Panthers had the edge throughout most of the game, and after early strikes in the 19^th and 22^nd minutes, held onto the lead until Kyle Stanley converted a Mitch Rein try in the 75^th to tie things up. Despite letting the game almost get away from them, the Panthers appeared to have the right mentality when the going got tough, their big forwards demanding the ball late in the game, taking responsibility and trying to get things back on track. Although they didn’t get much reward, the Panthers backs looked a more youthful and enthusiastic bunch than their Dragons counterparts and will let coach Ivan Cleary sleep easy about his decision to drop NSW centre Michael Jennings. Josh Mansour racked up the metres, almost breaking the 200 mark in a fine follow up to his impressive start last week while fullback Lachlan Coote looked to be taking on some real leadership and responsibility for the team. Even just in the simple things like stepping up ready to take the penalty kicks, he seemed to have a cool demeanour and was in charge of the situation. The Panthers have sorely missed the presence of big bopper Tim Grant this season, he proved his worth as he barraged his way to over 140 metres to compliment his 30 tackles.

After the round began with one of the best games we’ve seen in a long time in a fantastic duel between Brisbane and Manly, the Titans putting away the Doggies, and the Sharks, without Gallen, handing the Storm their first loss of the season, it was a fitting end to the week with a golden point finish and yet another upset. Let this great week of entertainment serve as another reminder of why the NRL is the best sports competition going round.