Elliot Dee grabbed a try double but a late brace from Morgan Morris proved decisive as Ospreys snatched a full-blooded Welsh derby encounter in the BKT United Rugby Championship.
A tight and fiercely contested first half at Rodney Parade saw the Men of Gwent take a slender two-point lead courtesy of scores from Dee and a penalty try.
A thrilling second half saw both teams trade blows with Dee grabbing a second and Anzelo Tuitavuki securing a try bonus.
A late brace from Morris saw the visitors take the victory, but a late penalty from Angus O’Brien ensured Filo Tiatia’s men took two points from another thrilling encounter on home soil.
Dragons came into the game unbeaten in their last three Welsh derbies and an early penalty for not rolling away at the breakdown against the visitors saw Tinus de Beer kick for touch and not go to the posts.
A dart by Hope and strong carry from Owen forced another penalty and de Beer again went to the corner as Dragons punched big early holes before Dee crashed over from a lineout drive. De Beer converted.
Dragons showed plenty of steel in defence in the opening ten minutes but lost Rhodri Maritnez to an early injury, replaced by Rhodri Jones.
A scrum penalty gave Ospreys an attacking platform, but they spilled ball in contact under pressure from Harry Beddall and the hosts kicked clear.
But pressure was starting to build as another breakdown penalty saw the visitors go deep and make it count as they drove over with former Dragon Moriarty scoring. Edwards converted.
Ospreys were making big yards post contact as they punched runners down the middle and then went to the skies with an Edwards kick coming back their way.
A kicking battle saw Hunt and Lewis-Hughes take ball on before Paea cleared our Keelan Giles as he looked to make an outside break.
The game was held up after a nasty looking injury to Wales international Kieran Hardy who was given a good ovation from the crowd as he was helped off.
Moments later it was Hunt who went to ground at scrum time, and he was replaced by Chris Coleman.
Dragons should have scored 13 minutes before the break as quick hands released Tuitavuki, but his inside pass to Hope went to ground with then scrum half clear to run it home.
On the other flank it was Dyer who twice raced into contact, but Dragons again failed to take advantage as a quick lineout misfired.
Tuitavuki kicked ahead after slick hands from Anderson opened space, but the ball evaded the onrushing Hope and Owen, before the full back again sparked from deep and looked to send De Beer away.
Ospreys scored from deep after they pounced on loose ball after Laim Wright came away with the ball, and Lalakai Foketi kicked ahead for Giles to dart in field and score.
Sustained pressure and phase after phase saw Dragons pummel the visiting defence in the losing three minutes of the half.
The driving lineout powered to the line and referee Robbie Jenkinson awarded a penalty try as the drive was pulled down, with Moriarty yellow carded in the process.
Dragons started the second half a man up, but it was Ospreys who got early territory and a penalties for a knee drop tackle and offside.
Edwards twice went to the corner, and the driving lineout again proved a powerful weapon, with visiting captain Sam Parry touching down for a 19-14 lead.
A smart restart routine saw Dyer cause issues and Dragons win a penalty that de Beer slotted to the corner. The power was too much again for Ospreys with Dee grabbing his second from the driving lineout routine, and de Beer adding the extras.
Like the previous week against Scarlets, the game was shifting from side to side with Ospreys next to attack and Parry grabbed his second of the game, making it six out of seven scores from driving lineouts.
Fans could hardly catch a breath as the game was again lit up once more with O’Brien stepping and freeing Hope. His clever inside pass found Tuitavuki who crashed over for the bonus point.
An intercept by Carter on halfway sparked a race up field to bring the lock down, before another interruption saw Coleman down and the game go to uncontested scrums.
A sublime 50:22 turned the Ospreys, despite Edwards valiant efforts to stop the rolling ball. The first drive was cynically stopped and the second made yards until Morgan Morse got over the ball to stop repeated drives for the whitewash.
Ospreys struck a decisive blow when Morgan Morris dotted down after a loose pass in midfield had forced the home side back to their own line.
And he struck again from close range with two minutes to go, leaving O’Brien to salvage a second point with the last kick of the game.
Timeline:
05m Dee t De Beer c 7-0
17m Moriarty t Edwards c 7-7
35m Giles t 7-12
40m Penalty t -14-12
47m Parry t Edwards c 14-19
50m Dee t De Beer c 21-19
54m Parry t Edwards c 21-26
56m Tuitavuki t De Beer c 28-26
72m Morris t 28-31
78m Morris t Edwards c 28-38
80m O’Brien p 31-38
Dragons RFC: Huw Anderson (O’Brien 51), Rio Dyer, Fetuli Paea (Inisi 63), Aneurin Owen, Anzelo Tuitavuki, Tinus de Beer, Che Hope (Williams 63); Rodrigo Martinez (Jones 10), Elliot Dee (Coghlan 63), Robert Hunt (Coleman 27 (Dee 64)), Seb Davies (Langton-Cryer 65), Ben Carter, Shane Lewis-Hughes, Harry Beddall, Harri Keddie
Replacements: Brodie Coghlan, Rhodri Jones, Chris Coleman, Barny Langton-Cryer, Sam Scarfe, Rhodri Williams, Angus O’Brien, Fine Inisi
Ospreys Rugby: Tom Rogers, Marika Koroibete, Evardi Boshoff, Keiran Williams, Keelan Giles, Dan Edwards, Kieran Hardy; Gareth Thomas, Sam Parry, Tom Botha, Rhys Davies, Ryan Smith, Liam Wright, Ross Moriarty, Morgan Morris
Replacements: Efan Daniel, Steffan Thomas, Rhys Henry, Lewis Jones, Morgan Morse, Reuben Morgan Williams, Lawson Creighton, Lalakai Foketi
Referee: Robbie Jenkinson (IRFU)
Attendance: 6,037
