Scarlets welcomed in 2025 with a bonus-point 32-15 victory over the Dragons that moves them up to sixth in the United Rugby Championship table.
A dominant first-half display laid the platform for the win with player of the match Marnus van der Merwe and second row Sam Lousi outstanding and Blair Murray razor sharp behind to finish off two tries.
Dragons attempted to haul themselves back into the contest after half-time and frustrated the home side for long periods of a scrappy second period.
But head coach Dwayne Peel will be delighted with the maximum haul as attention now refocuses on European action and a trip to Kingsholm to take on Gloucester.
Scarlets scored three tries before the break to lead 24-3.
They were up and running early thanks to a searing counter-attack from their own half. Joe Roberts scooped up the ball in midfield; a clever off-load from Taine Plumtree found Tom Rogers who made the crucial half-break and some smart off-loads sent Murray haring on an inside run to the posts.
The impressive Costelow converted then added a long-range penalty to push the score to 10-0 before opposite number Angus O’Brien reduced the advantage with a three-pointer against his former side.
But the Dragons respite was shortlived. Max Douglas, on his 25th birthday, gathered the restart and a lovely miss pass from Macleod found Murray, who finished sharply.
It was the skipper who then had the third, finishing off a close-range line-out drive for his sixth try of the campaign. Costelow nailed the touchline conversion once again to make it 24-3.
The Scarlets could have gone further ahead just before the interval after the rampaging Lousi had burst through, but the Dragons defence managed to scramble back.
The home side didn’t have long to wait for their bonus score, however.
Three minutes after the restart, Scarlets turned over the Dragons inside their own 22, the ball was shipped wide and an offload from Johnny Williams found Ellis Mee, who dived over for his first try at Parc y Scarlets.
At 29-3 the Scarlets were coasting, but back came the Dragons with tries from Taine Basham and Huw Andrews, sandwiching a Plumtree yellow card for a high challenge.
Replacement Ioan Lloyd nudged over a penalty to secure the points at 32-15 and despite a late flurry of attacks, that is how it stayed.
Scarlets – tries: B. Murray (2), J. Macleod, E. Mee. Cons: S. Costelow (3). Pens; Costelo, I Lloyd.
Dragons – tries: T. Basham, H. Andrews. Con: A. O’Brien. Pen: O’Brien
Attendance: 7,605
Scarlets: Tom Rogers (repl Eddie James 59); Ellis Mee, Joe Roberts, Johnny Williams, Blair Murray; Sam Costelow (repl Ioan Lloyd 48), Gareth Davies (repl Archie Hughes 48); Alec Hepburn (reply Kemsley Mathias 56), Marnus van der Merwe (repl Shaun Evans 72), Henry Thomas (repl Archer Holz 62), Alex Craig, Sam Lousi, Max Douglas (repl Vaea Fifita 48), Josh Macleod (capt; repl Jarrod Taylor 72), Taine Plumtree.