The last time James Tedesco walked from Campbelltown Stadium his career was in jeopardy. This time he dished out the pain in a sublime performance as the Tigers  beat St George Illawarra 22-4 on Monday night.

Tedesco's career was at a crossroads when he was assisted from the ground with a fractured patella against the Raiders on June 28. That was the latest in a host of leg injuries which forced the Tigers to re-design Tesdesco's running style. Fast forward to Monday night and the Magpies junior was in full flight against a hapless St George Illawarra side, laying on two tries and scoring one.

As much as Tedesco's star shone, the Dragons were equally woeful. They made errors on the first tackle three times in the opening half and finished with a first half completion of 63 per cent.  Tedesco may have shown the flair but it was big man Aaron Woods who helped lay the platform upfront.

The match was an unhappy homecoming for Benji Marshall who had limited opportunities to showcase his attacking prowess at the ground he made his NRL debut as a fresh-faced 18-year-old in front of 11,837 people.  A host of those fans missed kick-off with thousands of people left lining up outside when the game started.  The night started badly for the Dragons when they lined up on the wrong side of the field to start the game. Perhaps the highlight for the Dragons was when fill-in skipper Jason Nightingale picked the ball up after playing it with the muddled ruck going unnoticed by the match officials.

While the likes of Brett Morris, Josh Dugan and Matt Moylan will press for NSW Origin spots, Tedesco showed enough to have his name seriously considered by Blues coach Laurie Daley later this year.

Tedesco made light work of the extra opportunities as his side raced to a 20-0 lead after 18 minutes.  Winger Kevin Naiqama scored the opening try after just six minutes pouncing on a Tedesco off-load.

The fullback scored next thanks to a Luke Brooks kick before having a hand in Pat Richards' double.

Tedesco threw the last pass for Richards' first try before his speed took advantage of a compressed Dragons right hand side defensive edge to create enough space for Tim Simona to gift Richards an easy try. Tedesco showed he could do no wrong – even without the ball – when he tapped in an errant penalty touch finder by Gareth Widdop to ensure the Tigers remained on the attack.

A Dane Nielsen try – thanks to a wide back line play -  gave St George Illawarra a glimmer of hope with the score 20-4 at half-time.

The Dragons were denied the chance to score the opening try of the second half with an obstruction call against Dylan Farrell off a set scrum move which saw the entire backline on the open side. Fill-in fullback Peter Mata'utia crossed the line but Farrell's indiscretion cost the Dragons.

The Tigers looked to have made the Dragons pay immediately when Richards again benefited from some classy play by Tedesco. An around the corner cut out pass on a skinny blindside found Richards who couldn't stay in field to claim his hat-trick.

After a strong opening half, the Tigers execution wavered in the second 40 minutes. Halves Mitchell Moses and Luke Brooks failed to build pressure as they struggled to extend their lead.

Richards added the only points of the second half with a penalty goal. Props Keith Galloway and Rory O'Brien were placed on report late in the game.

The victory keeps Jason Taylor's unbeaten record intact with their first genuine test against the Rabbitohs on Sunday while St George Illawarra will head to Canberra in search of their first win.