By Ellery Behan

The St George Illawarra Dragons have defiantly handed the Warriors just the third loss of their 2025 campaign in The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup, posting a 24-10 win to book their place in the Grand Final on Sunday 28 September.

The Dragons turned the Warriors away from their try-line twice in the opening exchanges of what was a fierce war of attrition, and were rewarded at the other end for their efforts. A shift to the right edge saw the ball in the hands of Nick Tsougranis, who was shown the sideline by Warriors defenders before delivering a Marshall-like flick pass to Mathew Feagai who bolted on his inside to score, fittingly, in front of an exuberant Leichhardt crowd.

And it wasn’t long before the Dragons set the crowd ablaze once more, making the most of an attacking opportunity as Jonah Glover provided a perfectly timed pass to Cody Ramsey, who batted it on for Feagai to soar into the corner for his second. Glover showed his expertise off the boot as he steered the conversion between the uprights from out wide, establishing an early 10-point lead over the competition leaders.

Following plenty of hard labour through the middle, the Warriors eventually took the opportunity to wield their sword in attack. Jett Cleary wrapped around to the left side of the ruck and fired a flat ball to a rampaging Moala Graham-Taufa, who exploded through to score. Cleary added the extras to cut the deficit to four.

The closing exchanges of the half were filled with errors and opportunities alike, headlined by Connor Muhleisen’s dropped ball when he dived over the line from dummy-half and seemed certain to score, leaving St George with a narrow 10-6 advantage at half-time in what was a dramatic encounter.

The second half stalemate was broken after 11 minutes with a deceptive play out of dummy-half from Haele Finau, who looked to his right before throwing a short ball to his left into the path of Jacob Halangahu, who was unstoppable from point blank range. Glover converted to put the Dragons ahead by 10 with plenty of time left on the clock.

Fighting tooth and nail to find points, the Warriors managed to pierce the Dragons’ line in a timely manner. A line-break from Makaia Tafua put St George on the back foot, and a quick shift wide ended with Morgan Harper bumping off two defenders en route to the try-line to reduce the deficit to 16-10.

A penalty to the Dragons with just five minutes left to play gave them the opportunity to extend their lead beyond a converted try. They did exactly that with Glover slotting the penalty goal to put them ahead by eight.

Retrieving the ball from the Warriors’ attempt at a short kick-off, St George Illawarra put the game beyond doubt with a brilliant try from Cody Ramsey. He put his speed and elusiveness on show, splitting the defence through the middle and beating the fullback to score, with Glover converting to seal a 24-10 triumph.

Talking points

– The Dragons are the first team to secure their spot in The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup 2025 Grand Final, with an impressive win over the table-topping Warriors.

– St George Illawarra were bolstered with the return of first-grade talent to their side but may be without Loko Pasifiki Tonga in two weeks’ time, who was seen in a knee brace following an injury.

– The Dragons impressively held the competition’s best attacking side to just two tries, a sign of the gritty defence they will need on Grand Final day.

– The two sides, ranked first and second at the end of the regular season, may meet again on Grand Final day if the Warriors are triumphant in next week’s clash against the winner of the Minor Semi-final between Parramatta Eels and Canberra Raiders.

Key moment

Ahead by just four points and awarded a penalty, the Dragons had an opportunity to kick a penalty goal and set up a six-point lead against a Warriors side that knows how to win. Instead, they backed themselves, tapped the football and were rewarded. Dummy-half Haele Finau laid on a short ball to send Jacob Halangahu over the line, bolstering St George Illawarra’s advantage to 10 points.

The try gave them plenty of momentum and, with wind in their sails, the Dragons took the ball almost the full distance of the field on the ensuing set before seeing out the rest of the contest.

What’s next?

The Dragons will next appear at CommBank Stadium for the Grand Final on Sunday 28 September, while the Warriors will head to Jubilee Stadium on Saturday for the Preliminary Final.