A promising performance from their halves and touch of class from Kalyn Ponga has led the Knights to a 30-10 victory over the Dragons at McDonald Jones Stadium.
The Knights made sure to repay the faith to the die-hard fans who turned up in brutal conditions on Friday night, bouncing back from last week's loss to the Warriors to register their second win for the season.
Recalled by Adam O'Brien after a fortnight in NSW Cup, Jackson Hastings stamped his authority in the No.7 jersey while halves partner Jack Cogger was the king of wet-weather footy, setting up two tries with pinpoint grubbers.
The home side opened the scoring in just the fifth minute when Hastings was on hand to pick up the loose ball and plant it down after the Dragons had fumbled a Cogger grubber.
Jackson Hastings Try
St George Illawarra hit back nine minutes later with Zac Lomax showing great hands to pick up a Ben Hunt grubber in slippery conditions and dive over in the right corner.
The Dragons took the lead in the 21st minute through Hunt but it was all Lomax, who kept the ball alive with a superb flick pass inside for his skipper to score.
The Knights regained the lead just three minutes later with a slick left side raid finishing with a Ponga cut out ball to Enari Tuala in the left corner. Ponga converted to make it 12-10.
Newcastle hit their straps in the 30th minute when a Cogger grubber sat up in the puddle for Daniel Saifiti to slide over for his first try for the season.
Dylan Lucas Try
A mistake by Jack Bird on his own 10-metre line gifted the Knights field possession and young backrower Dylan Lucas made the Dragons pay when he carried several Dragons defenders over the line to hand his side a 14-point lead at the break.
The second half turned into an arm wrestle before forward Leo Thompson looked to ice the victory with a dart from dummy half, however the prop was denied for obstruction.
Just as it was looking to be a scoreless second term, Ponga iced the victory for Adam O'Brien's side, looping a ball out wide for Tuala who put the ball on the boot for his skipper to slide over the line for a 30-10 lead in the final five minutes.
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Match Snapshot
- Dragons coach Shane Flanagan made a switch at half time with winger Zac Lomax shifting to fullback and Tyrell Sloan to the wing for majority of the second half.
- The Knights completed 35 from 45 sets for a 77 per cent completion rates.
- Dragons centre Jack Bird left the field in the 49th minute of the match after suffering a suspected leg injury, however returned later in the match.
- The Knights have won eight of their past nine games at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Bird leaves the field
- Called up to the starting 17 to replace Tyson Frizell (hamstring) Dylan Lucas made a big impact in the forwards, laying a team-high 42 tackles and scoring a try in the first-half.
- Zac Lomax had another night out for the Red V with a try, a try assist, 216 run metres and six tackle breaks.
- Touch judge Drew Oultram was subbed out of refereeing duties after struggling with calf tightness with Jake Sutherland subbing in.
- Knights captain Kalyn Ponga has scored five tries in his past four games against the Dragons.
Play of the Game
They didn't get the result but Dragons star back Zac Lomax still owned the moment of the match, with his skills on show in the 22nd minute. Running out of room on his edge, Lomax executed a perfectly placed flick pass for Ben Hunt to dive over untouched.
Ben Hunt Try
What they Said
"I thought the boys were great, especially in the first half going into the wind which was fairly significant. The whole performance was impressive after not getting back from New Zealand until Monday night. We had four days to get ourselves up and to play in conditions like that, which is hard on the body, they did a remarkable job. When I pulled the curtains back and saw the weather this morning, that was filling me with confidence, two halves that manage the end of sets well and kick well." - Knights coach Adam O'Brien
Knights: Round 5
"They handled it better. Those three kick tries was the thing that changed it, we just didn't do that well. It's inconsistent and whether it's talent in the dressing room or something else underlying, I need to get to the bottom of it. We know we can go when we need to but we're just not consistent enough. Tonight was tricky conditions but there's no excuse." - Dragons coach Shane Flanagan
Dragons: Round 5
What's Next
The Knights will enjoy another week at home when they kick off Round 6 with a Thursday night clash with the Roosters while the Dragons will head to Campbelltown to meet with the Wests Tigers.