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Rugbyleaguelive | 18/04/09 | 0
AUDIO - Adam MacDougall on beating Wendell's Dragons
AUDIO - Knights Man of the Match Kurt Gidley
The Newcastle Knights have staged a come-from-behind 24-18 win over the in-form St George Illawarra Dragons at WIN Jubilee Stadium on Saturday.
After trailing 14-6 at halftime, the Knights ran in three tries in a seven-minute burst to run away with the game.
Wendell Sailor bagged a double and five-eighth Jamie Soward was again superb for the Dragons as the home side dominated the first half, but the Knights took control of the contest with tries to Junior Sau, Isaac De Gois and Adam MacDougall in the second term.
Much had been made of the clash between Sailor and MacDougall before kick-off – even though the old rivals were always going to line up on opposite sides of the field – and Big Del took first blood with a try inside two minutes.
The Dragons veteran plucked a pinpoint chip kick from Soward out of the air before planting the ball down in the right corner.
With a strong breeze at his back, Soward landed the conversion from out wide to give the hosts the perfect start.
A penalty goal to St George Illawarra gave the hosts an 8-0 buffer, and they could have extended it with sustained pressure on Newcastle’s line.
Instead, the Knights’ defence held firm and after being given back-to-back penalties the visitors were on the board, with Richie Fa’aoso crashing over beside the posts.
The Dragons had three straight sets on Newcastle’s line but couldn’t capitalise, eventually turning over possession when Jason Nightingale was tackled over the sideline by MacDougall and James McManus.
But they extended their lead with the best play of the half, with Soward brilliantly chipping and regathering before throwing a great pass to his right for Sailor to score his second.
The Dragons lost Luke Priddis to injury late in the first half, and Sailor left the field 13 minutes into the second half with a hamstring problem.
There was soon more bad news for the hosts as the Knights began their fightback through Juniour Sau, who showed tremendous strength to shrug off two defenders before flirting with the touchline and diving over in the corner.
A piggy-back penalty put the Knights on the attack again, with hooker Isaac De Gois scooting over between the posts to put the visitors in front for the first time.
It was soon 24-14, with Newcastle pivot Ben Rogers making a break on the right edge before sending MacDougall away to score.
St George Illawarra prop Jarrod Saffy finished off a sharp passing move to crash over and bring the hosts to within a converted try 10 minutes from fulltime.
Mistakes and penalties from the Knights gave the Dragons scoring chances late in the game, but they couldn’t finish them off and had to watch their four-game winning streak coming to an end.
Newcastle Knights 24
Tries: Fa’aoso, Sau, De Gois, MacDougall
Goals: Gidley 4
St George Illawarra Dragons 18
Tries: Sailor 2, Saffy
Goals: Soward 3
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