Dragons big guns injured as Panthers issue second-half beat down

The Panthers win will likely be enough for Nathan Cleary and James Maloney to be given the keys to the Blues bus, with Cleary scoring a crucial first-half try and having a hand in another.

Maloney also looked dangerous throughout, and booted six goals, though his six  missed tackles provided some, perhaps unwanted, food for thought for Fittler.

The Blues coach was supposed to have all the headaches but it was Maroons coach Kevin Walters, who called the match for Fox Sports, that was left reaching for the aspirin when Ben Hunt left the field five minutes into the second half.

A lock for the Queensland No. 7, Hunt hobbled through the first half on a corked right thigh and emerged for the second half with the injury heavily strapped. He tried to play on but was replaced by Kurt Mann five minutes after the resumption. 

Walters was the first to greet Hunt when he left the sheds on fulltime, but the 28-year-old told reporters he'll be fine to play in Origin I at Melbourne.

Tariq Sims also returned for the second stanza with strapping identical to Hunt's and bravely soldiered on before eventually succumbing in the 62nd minute.

Jack de Belin also sent a scare through the Dragons and NSW camps when he left the field with seven minutes to play after copping a knock on his injured left hip.

He was replaced by Sims who limped out the clash but McGregor said none of injuries were serious.

“[Hunt] got a bump on the leg, Tariq got a bump on the leg, they were affected but they won't be in doubt for [Origin] selection or when we play next,” he said.

“If you had a film on [Hunt and just watched him you wouldn't leave him out there. It's got to be the welfare of the player to, not only winning a game of football.

“He was limping around and he wouldn't have been as a effective as he needed to be. To put added pressure on himself for the team, it's not something a coach should do for a player.

“It's a corked leg so they usually settle in a week. Jack de Belin re-injured an injury he's already got but I'd say he'll be OK to.”

Hunt's absence had a clear impact on his side's attack, with a Gareth Widdop penalty goal the Dragons only points, the first time they've been held try-less since round 14 last season.

Tyson Frizell and Paul Vaughan all came through unscathed which was likely all Fittler needed to see from them while Reagan Campbell-Gillard was outstanding, with his 79^th minute try the exclamation point on his pitch.

Cam McInnes was at his industrious best but didn't land a killer blow in his battle with Damien Cook for the NSW No. 9.

Bench hopeful Tyrone Peachey – who had a major hand in Cleary's first-half try – had a good night against Euan Aitken in their centre battle, but that may well pose for questions for Fittler than it answers.

McGregor will have a few questions of his own following his side's second loss in their past three outings heading into a 16-day lay-off. It saw the Panthers literally draw level with the Dragons in top spot on the ladder with an identical points differential. 

“At halftime there wasn't too much in it,” McGregor said.

“We had a [bad] read on our edge and they got that line break and scored off it. Other than that it was pretty even

“In the second half they were much more dominant. Their line-speed was good, they were more physical than we were. They dominated field position, they halves played over the advantage line and they were just too good on the night.

“That last 25 minutes was ugly to be honest. That's where all the points came. We didn't maintain the standards we've set for the first 11 weeks.

“It's disappointing, but that's footy, it's a journey over 25 weeks. We would've liked to have played better going into a bye, there's no doubting that.

“We knew how important this game was, and we prepared like that, we just didn't go out an play as good as we should've.” 

The hosts peppered the Dragons try-line for much of the opening stanza but had no points to show  for it until Maloney broke the stalemate with a penalty goal in the 22^nd minute.

It took 11 more minutes before Cleary posted the first four-pointer, beating three defenders on an incisive run to the line after a break from Peachey to take an 8-0 lead into halftime.

Widdop broke his side's duck with a penalty seven minutes into the second stanza but Maloney booted his own four minutes later to re-claim a six-point buffer.

The lead swelled to 12 when Christian Crichton carried three defenders across to score in the south-western corner, with Maloney nailing the sideline conversion.

Viliame Kikau barged across with 11 minutes to play as the lead ballooned to 20 before Campbell-Gillard closed the show.