Knights
14
Match Complete
Dragons
24
| 79 |  | Z. Lomax | ||
| 78 |  | J. Pereira | ||
| K. Sio | | 71 | ||
| 67 | | M. Dufty | ||
| 58 | | Z. Lomax | ||
| 57 | | N. Macdonald | ||
| 47 | | Z. Lomax | ||
| 45 | | J. Latimore | ||
| N. Meaney | | 38 | ||
| S. Kenny-Dowall | | 37 | ||
| K. Sio | | 11 | ||
| 6 |  | Z. Lomax |
| 3 | Tries | 4 | ||
| 1 | Conversions | 3 | ||
| 0 | Penalty Goals | 1 | ||
| 0 | Field Goals | 0 |
The St George Illawarra Dragons will face a tough road trip as their final tune-up for the NRL finals when they take on the Newcastle Knights on old boys day in the Hunter. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 3pm (AEST).
Despite their struggles over the past few seasons, old boys day is the one where Newcastle have continually put in a decent effort.
It’s their biggest club day of the year, and even without the injured duo of Kalyn Ponga and Connor Watson, they will give the struggling Dragons a run for their money.
In good news, there is no way Newcastle can collect the wooden spoon, with the club making major leaps forward on the last three years.
They beat the Panthers a fortnight ago in a big upset win on home soil and while they lost to the Sharks last week, it’s their defence which has been the main problem this season.
St George Illawarra are horrendously out of form. They have lost two of their last three by big margins to sides in the bottom four, capped off by an embarrassing 38-0 defeat at Kogarah to the Bulldogs last week.
It brings the club’s recent record to six losses in their last eight games, and without Gareth Widdop or Paul Vaughan on the field, they are going to struggle turning things around.
It would be fair to say the Dragons have looked fatigued and not likely of winning any games between now and the end of the season, but a win at Leichhardt over the Tigers showed their defensive qualities can still exist.
They will be searching for those ahead of the finals, with the club needing to play more direct in the forwards and look to get back to their offloads and quick play the balls which had them on top of the ladder after three months of the season.
While the Dragons form is horrendous, they are desperate for a win here, which should secure a home final next week instead of a potential trip to Auckland or Brisbane.
Prediction
With no Ponga or Watson and the Dragons still trying to get their season back on track ahead of the finals, they should pull off a victory here.
Dragons by 8.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this match from 3pm (AEST) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.
Gameinfo
Kick-off: 3pm (AEST)
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
TV: Live, Fox League
Online: Live, Foxtel app, Foxtel now, NRL Digital Pass
Betting: Dragons $1.85, Knights $2.60
Overall record: Played 36, Dragons 25, Knights 11
Last meeting: Round 4, 2018 – Dragons 30 defeat Knights 12 at WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Last five: Dragons 4, Knights 1
Record at venue: Played 19, Dragons 15, Knights 4
Referees: Henry Perenara, Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski
Newcastle Knights
1 Nick Meaney, 2 Ken Sio, 3 Sione Mata’utia, 4 Cory Denniss, 5 Shaun Kenny-Dowall, 6 Jack Cogger, 7 Mitchell Pearce (c), 8 Herman Ese’ese, 9 Danny Levi, 10 Daniel Saifiti, 11 Jamie Buhrer, 12 Aidan Guerra, 13 Mitchell Barnett
Interchange: 14 Tom Starling,, 15 Chris Heighington, 16 Jacob Lillyman, 17 Josh King, 18 JJ Felise, 19 Pasami Saulo, 20 Brock Lamb, 21 Luke Yates
St George Illawarra Dragons
1 Matt Dufty, 2 Nene Macdonald, 3 Zac Lomax, 4 Tim Lafai, 5 Jordan Pereira, 6 Kurt Mann (c), 7 Ben Hunt, 8 James Graham, 9 Cameron McInnes, 10 Leeson Ah Mau, 11 Tyson Frizell, 12 Tariq Sims, 13 Jack de Belin
Interchange: 14 Jeremy Latimore, 15 Jai Field, 16 Blake Lawrie, 17 Luciano Leilua, 18 Reece Robson, 19 Patrick Herbert, 20 Hame Sele, 21 Jacob Host
Brendon Waldron
Roar Pro
Well Brisbane have beaten Manly 44-10 a few times before so maybe we'll get another one of those...
Scott Pryde
Expert
Here is the current live ladder 1. Melbourne Storm (34 + 173) 2. South Sydney Rabbitohs (34 + 145) 3. Sydney Roosters (32 + 147) 4. Cronulla Sharks (32 + 84) 5. Penrith Panthers (32 + 56) 6. St George Illawarra Dragons (32 + 47) 7. New Zealand Warriors (32 + 25) 8. Brisbane Broncos (30 + 24) The Broncos now need to win by 24 points to jump the Dragons and 33 points to jump the Broncos.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Stu - see comment above. How was McInnes not passive in that case?
Scott Pryde
Expert
Okay but consistency... How wasn't McInnes passive earlier in the game?
Scott Pryde
Expert
Cheers JB
Scott Pryde
Expert
Full match report will be up soon. Thanks for joining me this afternoon on The Roar for our live coverage of the 2018 NRL season as the St George Illawarra Dragons beat the Newcastle Knights. Hopefully you enjoyed the coverage. That's me done for the regular season, but I'll be back during the NRL finals. Be sure to keep a look out for my talking points tomorrow night as well. In the meantime, it's almost time for Johnathan Thurston's final game as the Gold Coast Titans host the North Queensland Cowboys. That one will be up in ten minutes with David Holden on the call. Bye for now.
Brendon Waldron
Roar Pro
I am 0 from 4 in the results I've wanted this weekend. Not Good...
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thoughts on the game Roarers?
Scott Pryde
Expert
Well, I'd prefer to play you blokes than Brisbane, even at 'home.'
Scott Pryde
Expert
No, no they shouldn't be replaced in the eight. The ladder determines who have been the top eight teams for 25 weeks. The Dragons got enough competition points to be there. That's why the season is 25 weeks long and not a month long.
Scott Pryde
Expert
FULLTIME The St George Illawarra Dragons have run out winners by ten points over the Newcastle Knights at McDonald Jones Stadium in their final tune-up for the finals. While the game was scrappy, stop-start and not of the highest quality, the Dragons will take solace in the fact they were able to defend their line well and come back from an eight-point halftime deficit. It was the Dragons who opened the scoring with a penalty goal, but that was their last moment of joy in the first half, as some dubious decisions put the Knights up by eight. Tries to Ken Sio and Shaun Kenny-Dowall both cleared by the bunker, while one was denied for debutant Zac Lomax at the other end, would have been enough to frustrate all fans of the Red V. But with only 35 per cent possession during the first half, the visitors did a solid job to only be eight points behind. Given those stats though, Newcastle should have been further in front and already having seven errors to their name was something which has trended across their somewhat frustrating season. The second half got underway with the Dragons breaking a 135-minute try-scoring brought with Jeremy Latimore crashing over under the sticks. Nene McDonald and Matt Dufty would be the next to score tries, both on long range efforts, before Ken Sio scores for the Knights, bringing them back into the contest during the finals ten minutes. It wouldn't matter though as Jordan Pereira scored on the bell, extending the lead to ten and making it just that little bit harder for the Broncos to win a home final tomorrow against Manly, where they will need to win by at least 24 points to avoid a trip to Sydney. Knights 14 Dragons 24
Stu
Guest
People complain even when the bunker is right. See 'passive' in the 10m which is specifically mentioned in the rule book
Stu
Guest
If you read the rules, you'd realise the bunker got it right. Everyone on the roar bags commentators for blowing up about not knowing the rules but everyone here is just as bad
steveng
Roar Rookie
Dragons just scarped in this game and the 8, the Raiders or the Bulldogs should have taken the Dragons position in the 8 lol
Penrith Punter
Roar Guru
Now barracking for the Broncos to win by over 34 on Sunday afternoon so we finish in sixth and Saints end up in seventh.
Scott Pryde
Expert
FULLTIME Short kick-off here. Kenny-Dowall runs onto it, throws a ball to Starling who then got smacked over the top. He drops it and the siren goes after a bit of a blue in the middle, so the Dragons have got a win to go into the finals, but it certainly wasn't a good game by any stretch of the imagination. Knights 14 Dragons 24
Kenw
Guest
I've got a feeling they'd run over you
79
78
JOHNY BULLDOG
Roar Rookie
Wooohooo enjoy Scotty