Jeremy Smith scored two tries in his first game for over three months and Jamie Soward became the first man in the NRL this season to score 200 points as St George Illawarra downed Penrith 25-6 at CUA Stadium on Friday night.

The Dragons seventh straight win tightened their already vice-like grip on the minor premiership and ensured they would maintain at least a four-point lead over their closest challengers with just four rounds to go.

Playing their 1000th competitive game, the Panthers trailed for almost the entire match against a Dragons outfit which defended well and took some chances in attack without playing at their best.

New Zealander Smith, who had been sidelined since round eight by foot and ankle injuries, scored in the closing minutes of each half.

Five-eighth Soward finished with 13 points thanks to a try, four conversions and a field goal with six minutes to go.

Penrith threatened to launch a full scale comeback from a 12-0 halftime deficit.

A converted try to Luke Lewis within three minutes of the second half cut the deficit to six points.

Lewis, who had missed the previous eight games with a broken toe, touched down again five minutes later when he pounced on the loose ball.

However, video referee Steve Clark scrubbed the score, ruling Panthers back Maurice Blair had knocked on after contesting a Wade Graham bomb with Brett Morris.

Tries to Ben Creagh in the fifth minute and Smith in the 36th, set up the Dragons halftime buffer.

They monopolised possession against a Penrith team which turned the ball over in three of their first four sets.

The visitors made them pay for only one of the errors, with second rower Creagh scoring after they were gifted possession by a Shane Elford mistake.

Winger Elford made an eventful and luckless 14-minute cameo before he was forced off with bleeding behind the eye.

He was hurt inside the first two minutes and then fumbled the ball around 20 metres from his own line two minutes later.

In the ensuing set, Creagh surged over the line off a pass from skipper and halfback Ben Hornby, who was prominent in the early exchanges.

Hapless Elford was placed on report for a high shot on Matt Cooper, but was on the receiving end when he was dropped on his head in a tackle.

Dragons prop Justin Poore was placed on report for the tackle and Elford was forced out of the game.

Penrith clawed back but paid the price for a couple of poor fifth tackle options.

The visitors piled on the pressure in the closing minutes of the half and were rewarded in the 36th minute when Smith scored the softest of tries.

Taking possession close to the line, he strolled over after Panthers prop Frank Puletua bought his dummy.

Smith crossed for second try with just a minute to go.

Elford was taken to Westmead hospital for treatment of his eye injury which Penrith coach Matthew Elliott confirmed was caused by the Poore tackle.

Poore emphasised he had not tried to lift Elford vertically and that he had a good judiciary record.

Dragons coach Wayne Bennett said he wasn't the best person to ask about the tackle as he was biased, while Elliott said he didn't think the tackle was horrible.

Soward said he hadn't been aware of his points landmark until after the game.

"I'm pretty proud of the achievement, but I think it's credit to the way the team has been going, and blokes are scoring underneath the posts for me," Soward told AAP.

Bennett said he would look at rotating players over the last four rounds and didn't rule out resting some.

However he quashed suggestions that he had considered resting Soward for Friday's game..

"I'm not in the habit of resting my best players, we're not that good, we want him to play," Bennett said.

Both Bennett and Hornby felt the Dragons did enough to win the game without playing at their best, especially in a mistake-ridden first-half performance.

"We probably got too carried away, we were trying to play too much football and not playing conservative," Hornby said.

Elliott felt the disallowed try to Lewis and Soward's score shortly after wasn't the turning point.

"The most pivotal point was of the game was the first 25 minutes and our (lack of) respect for possession," Elliott said.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP