sport, local-sport, Dragons, St George, Illawarra, NRL, Newcastle, Knights

ST GEORGE Illawarra coach Paul McGregor has slammed the Bunker as "embarrassing and incompetent" after two disallowed tries in a shock loss to Newcastle. Asked for his thoughts on the decision to deny centre Tim Lafai and winger Nene McDonald, McGregor said: "Embarrassing and incompetent. "Anyone who knows rugby league will know they were wrong. The ball went back and (Trent) Hodkinson took a dive." Captain Gareth Widdop added: “They spend millions of dollars on it and don't get it right." But McGregor said his team must take responsibility for the result. "It's too far between our best and our worst. Today was too close to our worst. There's disappointed people and I'm one of them." Knights ended an eight-game losing streak and revived their hopes of avoiding the wooden spoon with a 21-14 upset win against St George Illawarra at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday. Newcastle’s third victory of 2017 lifted them to within two points of second-last West Tigers, who tackle the Titans on the Gold Coast on Sunday. With five games remaining – three on home turf – Newcastle will need at least one more win if they hope to avoid finishing last for the third time in as many seasons. Having lost 11 of their previous 12 games at home to the Dragons, the Knights were also looking to make amends for losses at Kogarah earlier this year and in the final round of last season, when on both occasions they were unable to capitalise on commanding leads. The shock defeat could prove costly for the Dragons, who are in a dogfight to qualify for the final eight. A try by bench forward Jacob Saiiti in the 73rd minute, after prop Josh King slipped the ball free in a gang tackle, was the matchwinner for Newcastle, who were playing in front of a jubilant crowd of 15,031. A Trent Hodkinson field goal a minute from full-time sealed the result. The Knights enjoyed some rare good fortune at the hands of the officials in the first half, when the video-referee bunker denied the Dragons two tries. Newcastle led 12-0 after two inspired moments from five-eighth Brock Lamb. In the sixth minute, Lamb grubber kicked ahead and regained the ball to score next to the posts. Five minutes later, he hoisted a bomb towards the right-hand flank and new recruit Shaun Kenny-Dowall flew high to grab his second try in as many games since his mid-season transfer from the Roosters. The visitors, who had won a remarkable 15 of their previous 18 games in Newcastle, hit back in the 23rd minute when they kept the ball alive and prop Paul Vaughan charged over for his sixth try of the season. Then came two contentious moments when the Dragons were denied by officials. First, winger Jason Nightingale was ruled to have knocked on before passing to centre Tim Lafai, who stolled over the line. On the opposite flank, Nene MacDonald raced 90 metres after fielding a kick, only for the bunker to rule Hodkinson had been illegally taken out of play. A Hodkinson penalty goal made in 14-6 to Newcastle, but the Dragons reduced the deficit to two points seconds before half-time when back-rower Tariq Sims crashed through after a Josh Dugan offload. The Dragons equalised in the 60th minute when skipper Gareth Widdop kicked a penalty. Three minutes later, MacDonald broke clear and tried to link with unmarked fullback Matt Dufty, who fumbled a difficult pass.

https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/fdcx/doc6w0cg2v2d10ep6j5m1c.jpg/r12_144_4980_2951_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg