Saturday’s first NRL Round 11 match is between St George Illawarra Dragons and Penrith Panthers with the opening kick to commence at 5:30pm local time. The game is to be played at WIN Jubilee Oval which see’s home team St George Illawarra Dragons hold favouritism in the market. View our NRL live scores, odds and results for the game between St George Illawarra Dragons and Penrith Panthers.
WHERE AND WHEN: WIN Jubilee Oval, Saturday 25th May, 5:30pm
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Preview:
The first Saturday match of the round is between the Dragons and the Panthers, kicking off at 3.15PM at WIN Jubilee Oval. The Dragons had to fight hard last week against Parramatta, and only managed to come away with a 34-20 loss. Once again, the defence of the Dragons will be tested by Penrith, who have had two losses in their last three games. While the Panthers lost a high scoring 38-32 game last week to the Warriors, they should have an easier time of it against St George.
Teams:
St George Illawarra Dragons:
Josh Dugan, Daniel Vidot, Chase Stanley, Matt Cooper, Jason Nightingale, Jamie Soward, Nathan Fien, Dan Hunt, Mitch Rein, Michael Weyman, Bronson Harrison, Ben Creagh (c), Trent Merrin. Interchange: Tyson Frizell, Matt Prior, Jack de Belin, Jack Stockwell, Cameron King
Penrith Panthers:
Matt Moylan, Travis Robinson, Lewis Brown, Dean Whare, David Simmons, Isaac John, Luke Walsh, Nigel Plum, Kevin Kingston (c), Tim Grant, Sika Manu, Matt Robinson, Adam Docker. Interchange: James Segeyaro, Mose Masoe, Clint Newton, Ryan Simpkins
Dugan at home with us say Dragons
Josh Dugan’s former Canberra teammate Bronson Harrison says the fullback has fitted in seamlessly at St George Illawarra.
Dugan starred on his Dragons debut against Parramatta last week after two months out of the NRL after being sacked by the Raiders for repeated discipline breaches.
Harrison and Dugan spent four seasons in Canberra before the former Kiwi back-rower joined the Dragons this season.
Dugan later followed suit after his sacking from the Raiders.
“I have to give him a rap because he has taken ownership of what happened and now he just wants to play football,” Harrison told AAP.
“He has gotten straight back into it and he has had a good, positive effect on the team. He is in the right frame of mind and he had been a breath of fresh air.”
Dragons coach Steve Price credited Dugan for helping inspire the joint venture’s most impressive attacking performance of the year in the 32-12 win over the Eels. Harrison said the signs were there that Dugan would only continue to boost the club as he settled in.
“We probably won’t know the full affect for a few weeks but he knows where we are at and what we need from him,” Harrison said.
“Producing that effort week in, week out is going to be the big challenge for him. Not just for him but for everyone. He has adapted to the Dragons system and how we play and I think he will get better each week.
“He will create more opportunities for the people outside him and inside him. We have had a few injuries and Josh has been a great replacement. We have always had a lot of belief in ourselves. We are improving and we know if we put our best performance on the field each week it will take a very good team to beat us.”
St George Illawarra play Penrith at Kogarah on Saturday night and former Kiwi representative Harrison said the home side is wary of a Panthers outfit that has enjoyed back-to-back morale boosting wins – an upset victory over premiers Melbourne and a 62-6 thrashing of the Warriors.
“They are in good form and a team with confidence is a very dangerous team,” Harrison said.
“We will have to put in a top performance to beat them.”
