Another rock-solid defensive display and a single piece of individual brilliance was enough for St George Illawarra to overcome Penrith at CUA Stadium last night.
The Panthers, who were controversially denied a 48th-minute try to Luke Lewis, applied the blowtorch to the Dragons for most of the second half, but again the Red V stood up to the challenge, winning 25-6.
Dragons five-eighth Jamie Soward produced another game-breaking moment with a 75m try, while he also slotted a field goal in the 74th minute to seal victory.
Full coverage of The St George Illawarra DragonsReturning from an ankle injury which has left him sidelined since May, lock Jeremy Smith scored a double, including a try with seconds remaining on the clock.
Lewis and the Panthers were contentiously denied a try by video referee Steve Clark when high-flying Maurice Blair was ruled to have bobbled the ball forward in the motion which led to Luke Lewis scrambling to score.
A try then would have given Penrith the chance to level the scores, but with St George Illawarra given a reprieve, Soward took a mile when he sliced through the Panthers' defensive line, leaving NSW State of Origin centre Michael Jennings stranded as he sprinted towards the tryline.
It was an amazing effort, especially for a player who had been rumoured to be rested for the game by coach Wayne Bennett after picking up a shin injury in last Friday's victory over Melbourne at WIN Jubilee Oval.
But it was exactly the sort of play Dragons fans have come to expect from the NRL's leading points scorer.
It established an 18-6 advantage, but the mostly pro-Panthers crowd of 19,987 were still left wondering about why Lewis had been denied his second try three minutes earlier.
Lewis, who had returned from injury last night, put Penrith back in the contest after trailing 12-0 at the break, when he held off three Dragons defenders to score on the right edge.
Earlier, St George Illawarra roared to life after just four minutes when second-rower Ben Creagh ran on to a pass from captain Ben Hornby to score.
But Creagh's points were the feature of an otherwise dull first half littered with dropped ball and a lack of big-game atmosphere for a clash between the premiership favourites and finals hopefuls.
New Zealand international lock Smith then celebrated his first game in the NRL since round eight when he strolled over untouched from short range in the 37th minute.
However, the second half marked a significant change in tempo and Penrith started to pile on the pressure.
ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA 25 (J Smith 2 B Creagh J Soward tries J Soward 4 goals J Soward field goal) bt PENRITH 6 (L Lewis try M Gordon goal) at CUA Stadium. Referees: Gavin Badger, Ashley Klein. Crowd: 19,987.
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