Tigers 32 d Dragons 30
ROBBIE Farah's season has gone from bad to worse after he was penalised to hand St George Illawarra a 32-30 golden point win.
The Dragons squandered a 30-8 lead to allow the Tigers to race in four tries in the final 15 minutes to send the game into golden point. Perhaps a snapshot of their turbulent season, Farah – in what could be his final play as a Tigers player – was penalised by referee Matt Cecchin for not standing square at marker gifting a penalty goal almost in front of the posts for Josh Dugan to convert.
"It's all part of the game," said Dugan, who kicked in place of the injured Gareth Widdop. "I dusted off the cobwebs during the week.
"It was good to get the win."
Regardless of how it happened the Dragons finally made it. It has been a long three seasons since the Dragons last progressed beyond the regular season but just how many games they have left in 2015 remains to be seen after a less than convincing performance at ANZ Stadium in front of 17685 people on Saturday.
The ever reliable Pat Richards missed three conversions and as many field goal attempts, while Benji Marshall failed with his three shots at field goal.
A probable trip to Melbourne awaits the Dragons. Regardless of what happens beyond this point, St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor has exceeded most pundits' expectations by raising the Dragons into the top eight in his first full season as coach.
While McGregor had the added advantage of taking over towards the back end of last year, his opposite Jason Taylor also completed his first season as Tigers head coach. The uncertainty surrounding Farah's future has overshadowed an inconsistent year for him. They finish equal last, with two less wins than 2014, a result which saw Michael Potter sacked as coach. When St George Illawarra and the Tigers met in round two, it was the Tigers who looked destined for the finals after a dominating 22-4 victory.
Following a poor performance against the Titans, which followed a less than impressive victory against Penrith, the Dragons needed to generate some confidence heading into the finals. Their six try each victory would not have left them oozing self-belief but it was enough to starve off the unlikeness of Manly stealing their finals spot.
Marshall, who laid on three tries, was the Dragons' best.
It didn't start well for St George Illawarra. A Luke Brooks intercept from a Mitch Rein pass allowed the Tigers halfback to race 45 metres to score after two minutes.
A James Tedesco error from a regulation Aaron Woods offload from their next set immediately put the Tigers on the back foot. And the Dragons made them pay.
After a Marshall grubber bounced off a Tigers attacker, Dugan drifted 30 metres sideways before isolating Mitchell Moses and running over the Tigers five-eighth to straighten up and run 10 metres to score.
The Dragons scored their next points before the Tigers regained possession. A Hutchison last tackle kick allowed Eto Nabuli to outleap David Nofoaluma to score.
St George Illawarra had their third try inside the opening 20 metres when Euan Aitken overpowered Brooks and Tim Simona on a quick wide shift to score.
A Jake Marketo error put the Tigers on the attack. An old school run around play involving Farah helped create more space before Tedesco fired a cut out pass for Pat Richards to score in the corner.
A Tyson Frizell try following a Marshall pass gave the Dragons a 20-8 half-time lead. Marshall had a hand in the first points after half-time. Drifting from one side of the field to the other, Marshall put in an early tackle kick for Jason Nightingale to score in the corner and give St George Illawarra a 24-8 lead.
Marshall again toyed with his former teammates when he took the ball to the line to draw Simona in just enough to give Aitken an opportunity to get on the outside of his opposite to score the first double of his career.
Aitken's try may have extended the Dragons lead by 22 but it also saw St George Illawarra's intensity diminish.
Richards, Tedesco and Woods would score in a final frenzy before a Nofoaluma 85 metre intercept on full-time sent the game into golden point.
