The Dragons came back from an eighteen point deficit to trounce the Knights 32-28, reconsolidating themselves in the top eight.
Rossdog stars in a tough loss at the back
Nathan Ross is said to be unhappy with the structure of his Newcastle contract. Nathan Ross is also the hero of all of Newcastle. He went in for a treble of tries filling in for Dane Gagai, who took it easy backing up from Origin II. He ran for more than two hundred metres in the game and was unstoppable, especially in the first half. Knights fans are in prayer sessions to keep him in Newcastle and for the sake of the game he should – he is a shining light at the club.
Second half a no go for Newcastle
The Knights put on a total of five tries this game, and all of them came in a fourteen minute span in the first half. That means for the better part of sixty six minutes they went scoreless and let the Dragons put points on. Kurt Mann went over in the sixty seventh minute of the game to take the lead – meaning there was still thirteen minutes left for Newcastle to get it back. Despite finding it so easy to cross the stripe in a fourteen minute period in the first half, they could not go over once in the final thirteen of the second.
Blues out for their Origin revenge
Josh Dugan and Tyson Frizell returned from a physical Origin game that would have left them broken and scarred. Dugan topped all the combatants for run metres with 234, partner in the Blues Frizell busted four of Newcastle’s tackles and was hard to contain, running for more than 120 metres in the win. Their performances come after a tough loss to take in the second Origin game but show their grit and their drive for their club team.
Vaughan’s century not a happy one
Paul Vaughan was out on his hundredth NRL game and it only lasted three minutes after he went off with a calf strain. Russell Packer and Vaughan turned around a mediocre pack from 2016 and have done a lot in putting the Dragons where they are on the ladder – but without who is arguably the better half of their prop pairing, it does not seem likely the Dragons have it in them to keep pace with the top teams. Their depth is now sure to be tested as they dip in to their reserve forwards to replace their stars.
