Round 2
Dragons 12 l. Panthers 13

2006 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: Aus_NZ > National > First Grade Competition: NRL Telstra Premiership

St.George-Illawarra Dragons
Reece Simmonds [WG] 4 Pts; 1t (71st)
Aaron Gorrell [DH] 4 Pts; 2/3g
Ashton Sims [SR] 4 Pts; 1t (80th)

Penrith Panthers
Preston Campbell [F8] 5 Pts; 2/3g, 1fg
Rhys Wesser [FB] 4 Pts; 1t (63rd)
Tony Puletua [SR] 4 Pts; 1t (52nd)



Campbell boots Panthers home in Golden Point
Mon March 20, 2006
Penrith five-eighth Preston Campbell has delivered the first Golden Point victory of the season when he landed a drop goal in the 84th minute to sink the Dragons to their second successive loss of the season with the Panthers getting up 13-12 at WIN Stadium in Wollongong. It was the Panthers first victory in Wollongong since they defeated Illawarra in 1991, the year they won their maiden premiership.

The first half was a torrid and tight affair with the scores locked up at 2-all thanks to penalty goals from Aaron Gorrell in the 35th minute and Campbell right on the stroke of halftime - with the game bringing back memories to the tight Grand Final encounters of the 1980's when points were like gold.

Tony Puletua broke the deadlock in the 50th minute and scored the opening try of the match to give Penrith a 6-2 lead and Rhys Wesser scored in the 63rd minute with Campbell converting as the Panthers pushed out to a comfortable 12-2 margin, which in a tight game such as this should have been more than enough to get them home.

The Dragons launched a great comeback in the final 10 minutes with Reece Simmonds crossing wide out in the 71st minute and with only seconds remaining Ashton Sims scored under the posts to send the match into Golden Point.

Penrith dominated the Golden Point period with Puletua having a try disallowed and then Campbell potting over the crucial one-pointer to keep the Panthers unbeaten start to the season alive. With the Panthers not having a home game for the opening seven rounds, to come out of the first three rounds with six points is a great start for John Lang's side. Penrith have the bye next week and it's gone un-noticed that Penrith are currently on a seven-match winning streak with the club record at eight.

St George Illawarra have now lost both their opening two matches and again have started the season slowly. The Dragons for some reason or another are the NRL's traditional slow starters. There will be pressure on coach Nathan Brown as the Dragons along with the Roosters have the strongest side on paper with blistering fire power and they also have fantastic depth.

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