Dragons snatch late victory

v BYE

A penalty goal in the 79th minute has been the downfall for the Newcastle Knights, as the St George Illawarra Dragons took victory 28-26 at Kogarah Oval this afternoon, taking the Knights' losing streak to 18.

With the game looking a certainty to end in Golden Point, a dubious penalty on Knights' captain Jeremy Smith gifted Gareth Widdop the opportunity to give his team the victory. Cool as a cucumber from 40 metres out, Widdop slotted the goal and drove another nail into the Knights' already dismal season.

The Knights started the game by far the more impressive side, getting to a 10-0 lead after 12 minutes, thanks to tries to Nathan Ross and Jacob Saifiti. But that lead amounted to nothing, when the Dragons scored four back-to-back tries to give themselves a solid 22-10 lead at half time.

First half tries to Jason Nightingale and Jake Marketo, as well as a double to Joel Thompson, took the game away from the Knights.

The Newcastle side did manage to claw their way back into the game, with early second half tries to Dane Gagai and Peter Mata'utia.

A second to Nightingale gave the Dragons a little breathing space, but Mitch Barnett evened the scores late in the game with a determined effort.

But the Knights will rue a poor field goal attempt from Jarrod Mullen in the final minutes, which handed the Dragons field position that eventually led to their victory.

The Newcastle side finishes the season with 18 straight losses, and only one win for the season - the worst performance by a first grade side since the Gold Coast Seagulls in 1993.