A Tyrell Sloan drop goal proved the difference as the Dragons marched towards a special 24-22 in front of a sold-out WIN Stadium to end the year.
A sunlight-soaked hill was packed to the brim for Father’s Day as the club farewelled a host of departing players including captain Damien Cook, former Dragons Medal recipient Blake Lawrie, and 2019 SG Ball premiership-winning teammates Sloan and Mathew Feagai.
Each enjoyed moments of their own but none more so than Lawrie, who crashed over for just the fourth try of his 170-game Dragons career just shy of the hour mark, and Sloan, whose 74th-minute two-point field goal sent the Wollongong faithful into raptures as the side secured their first win at the venue in 400 days.
Fans were invited onto the field post-game as the club’s departing players were presented gifts and given one final opportunity to show their gratitude to the Red V faithful.
Cook was joined by a collection of former teammates, including Jai Arrow, whilst former-Dragon Jack de Belin also spent time catching up with former teammates and thanking the crowd.
Match: Dragons v Eels
Round 27 -
home Team
Dragons
17th Position
away Team
Eels
13th Position
Venue: WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Parramatta got off to a dream start with Jordan Samrani going aerial to score off a short-side Mitchell Moses chip to make it 6-0.
The Dragons answered in brilliant fashion 15 minutes in with a deft Lyhkan King-Togia chip bouncing perfectly into the arms of a chasing Tyrell Sloan.
Josh Addo-Carr was the next to score for Parramatta before the back-and-forth nature of the opening stanza persisted with Dylan Egan producing a beautiful line run to slice through off a Lyhkan King-Togia delivery and score.
Egan looked to have found his second of the first half shortly before the break off a Daniel Atkinson kick but video officials ruled a knock-on in the lead-up.
Instead it was the Eels who, helped by a late penalty, marched down the other end to snatch the final points of the opening half through a hard-running Dylan Walker.
Valentine Holmes left the field for the Dragons early in the second half with an apparent ankle issue seeing Mathew Feagai shift into the centres and Setu Tu come onto the wing.
Hamish Stewart also left the field shortly after for a HIA bringing Loko Jnr Pasifiki Tonga back into the action.
Parramatta edged further ahead off the back of it with Jordan Samrani finishing off a short-side sequence to make it 22-10.
In poetic fashion, Blake Lawrie crashed over for the fourth try of his NRL career in his final match in the Red V to bring his side back within a converted try.
NRL Match Highlights: Round 27 vs. Eels
The Dragons locked things up with 12 minutes to play courtesy of Connor Muhleisen who, in his second NRL match of 2026, went over off a nice Atkinson dart.
Lawrie was sent to the sin-bin off the following kick-off for a dangerous tackle on Walker seeing the Dragons reduced to 12 men for the home stretch.
The afternoon belonged to departing Dragon Tyrell Sloan however with the Dapto product slotting a miracle two-point field goal entering the final five minutes of the clash to send the sold-out crowd home happy.
NRL Press Conference: Round 27 vs. Eels
