A last-minute penalty try has seen the Penrith Panthers suffer a cruel Jersey Flegg loss, 26-20 at Collegians Sporting Complex in Wollongong.
After taking the lead late, two tries in the final minutes saw the Dragons snatch victory from the Panthers claws.
After missing an early opportunity, the Panthers spent much of the opening ten minutes defending their own line as a result of penalties and set restarts. Their defence held firm and were eventually rewarded when Loko Pasifiki Tonga knocked on attempting to crash over from close range.
A 40/20 in the 13th minute from Ashton Ward put the Dragons on the attack again, leading to their opening try when Cooper Roberts took a cut-out pass on the right. Ward converted to give the hosts a 6-0 lead.
Repeat sets gave the Panthers some much needed attacking momentum down the Dragons end in the 20th minute. After Liam Ison came close, Sam Lane broke through to get the Panthers on the board, with Joseph Nohra converting to lock the scores at 6-all.
The Panthers continued to attack, with Jack Garrod coming close on two occasions, one of which ended with Dragons fullback Benjamin Rumble sin binned after collecting Garrod high.
The Panthers capitalised on the one-man advantage in the 32nd minute when Ison capped a strong first-half performance by stepping through to score, giving the Panthers a 10-6 lead at the break.
The Dragons started the second half the stronger of the two teams, taking back the lead when Harry Rudd flew high to catch a bomb on the right-hand side, with Ward converting.
They made it two tries in quick succession when Roberts broke through for his second, taking the score to 16-10 with 20 minutes remaining.
An outstanding trysaver by Ison in the right-hand corner with 13 minutes to go proved to be a crucial moment for the Panthers, as they raced down the other end to score out wide through Luke Hanson, cutting the deficit to 16-14.
Trapped deep in their own half, Nohra found space on the left and darted through, combining with Ison before Hanson shifted back left to Bayden Moran to put the Panthers back in front. Nohra added the extras, taking the lead 20-16 with six minutes remaining.
The good work was immediately undone with a first-tackle error, before their left edge was again breached as Roberts completed his hat trick. Ward pushed the conversion wide, leaving the scores at 20-all.
From the following set, the Dragons again made a break down their right edge, before kicking back inside. Chaos reigned with both sides chasing, before the Dragons were eventually awarded a penalty try after the Panthers interfered with the kick chase. Ward converted on the siren, snatching the game, 26-20.
