Penrith Panthers 31–30 St George Illawarra — Qualifying Final, 2004 NRL Finals Series
10 Sep 2004 · Penrith Park, Penrith, NSW · Attendance: 21,963
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Qualifying Final, 2004 NRL finals series: Penrith Panthers 31–30 St George Illawarra, at Penrith Park, Penrith, NSW on 10 Sep 2004.
Sourcing caveat: No try-scoring minutes were found for this fixture.
Scorers
| Penrith Panthers | Tries: Campbell; Campbell; Waterhouse; Waterhouse; Priddis Goals: Girdler (5/5 conversions) Drop goals: Gower |
| St George Illawarra | Tries: Blacklock; Hornby; Thompson; Timmins; Young Goals: Head (5/5 conversions) |
Team sheets
| Penrith Panthers | St George Illawarra | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhys Wesser | Fullback | Ben Hornby | 1 |
| 2 | Amos Roberts | Wing | Nathan Blacklock | 2 |
| 3 | Ryan Girdler | Centre | Shaun Timmins | 3 |
| 4 | Paul Whatuira | Centre | Matt Cooper | 4 |
| 5 | Luke Rooney | Wing | Reece Simmonds | 5 |
| 6 | Preston Campbell | Five-Eighth | Trent Barrett (c) | 6 |
| 7 | Craig Gower (c) | Halfback | Mathew Head | 7 |
| 8 | Joel Clinton | Prop | Brent Kite | 8 |
| 9 | Luke Priddis | Hooker | Mark Riddell | 9 |
| 10 | Martin Lang | Prop | Jason Ryles | 10 |
| 12 | Shane Rodney | Second Row | Dean Young | 11 |
| 13 | Trent Waterhouse | Second Row | Lance Thompson | 12 |
| 15 | Danny Galea | Lock | Ben Creagh | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Garret Crossman | Ashton Sims | 14 | |
| 16 | Richard Fa'aoso | Justin Poore | 15 | |
| 18 | Ben Pomeroy | Luke Bailey | 16 | |
| 19 | Frank Puletua | Lincoln Withers | 17 | |
| John Lang | Coach | Nathan Brown | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Sean Hampstead |
Match report
An instant classic and arguably the standout match of the 2004 finals series — Penrith raced to a 24-0 lead inside the first half hour before the Dragons produced a remarkable fightback that brought the margin back to within a point. Preston Campbell and Trent Waterhouse (2 tries apiece) were the difference-makers for the home side, while St George Illawarra's five-try response made this a nail-biter to the final whistle. Craig Gower's field goal proved decisive.