Knights smash Dragons
54-6

Round 5
St George Illawarra Dragons 6 v Newcastle Knights 54
at WIN Stadium
Referees: Tony Archer

Match Summary:
The Newcastle Knights have posted their third ever highest victory in thrashing the St George Illawarra Dragons by a whopping 54-6 tonight in Wollongong.

In a blitz which began at the back end of the first half, The Knights ran in nine tries to totally decimate the Dragons.

Following much speculation about a neck injury which sidelined him in round four, Newcastle halfback Andrew Johns looked in superb form as he dictated terms across the park. The Knights captain took full advantage with an excellent kicking and passing game to which the Dragons had no answer.

In what began as a close fought encounter, the scoreboard read just 2-0 in favour of the visitors following penalty goal in the 18th minute. The score stayed that way until the 28th minute when Irish import Brian Carney scored in the corner.

What followed was a procession of tries as the Knights piled on 52 points in 43 minutes.

Scorers:
St George Illawarra Dragons: 6
Tries: Colin Best
Goals: Aaron Gorrell 1/1
Newcastle Knights: 54
Tries: Danny Buderus, George Carmont(2), Kurt Gidley, Andrew Johns, Anthony Quinn, Milton Thaiday, Brian Carney, Riley Brown
Goals: Andrew Johns 9/10

By the Clock:
Good sized crowd in Wollongong and packed on the hill as players come onto the field.
Andrew Johns definitely starting for the Knights. Only change to the card is that Adam Woolnough is out, replaced by Clint Newton. The Dragons as per the Tuesday team list and the same line up as last weekend.
The Knights kickoff!!

1 min: NEWS Knights get the first set after a Dragons error from the kickoff. Knights will get a repeat set after Dragons winger Reece Simmonds is forced to clean up in the in-goal.

4 min: NEWS Dragons respond with a 70m break started by Mark Gasnier.

10 min: NEWS Still 0-0 with the Dragons soaking up the early pressure and now both sides having their opportunities.

15 min: NEWS Newcastle's turn to survive repeat sets at their line. They get the ball back and a relieving penalty.

18 min: PENALTY GOAL Newcastle Knights
Andrew Johns kicks a penalty goal, 30m out and right in front. Follows penalty against Matt Bickerstaff for stripping the ball.
Knights 2-0

21 min: NEWS 40/20 from Trent Barrett. Huge kick downfield as the breeze picks up behind Saints. End-to-end football and the game being played at a fast pace.

28 min: TRY Newcastle Knights
Brian Carney scores in corner after Knights get repeat sets at the Dragons line.
Johns conversion attempt on line but doesn't have the distance.
Knights 6-0

31 min: TRY Newcastle Knights
Carmont scores after picking up the dregs from a Johns bomb which can't be handled. Johns converts.
Knights 12-0

33 min: NEWS Johns kicks a 40/20 for the Knights and the Dragons defending on their line again.

34 min: TRY Newcastle Knights
Milton Thaiday scores under the posts after Kurt Gidley offloads on a set play. Knights have been dominating possession for the last 6-8 minutes.
Knights 18-0

39 min: TRY Newcastle Knights
Johns takes an inside pass from Carney to score 15m in from touch. Set up along the backline from 30m out by Johns and Kurt Gidley.
Knights 24-0

Halftime: Knights 24-0
Extraordinary scoreline which amazingly was only 2-0 in the 27th minute, a scoreline which reflected a close fought match at the time.
But the Knights suddenly let loose, and on the back of a huge share of possession scored four tries in 11 minutes.
The Knights now enjoying 60% of the ball and actually controlled all the possession while they ran in their first three tries.
Clint Newton has had a big impact since coming on and Kurt Gidley is dictating terms at second receiver. Johns' kicking and passing game is carving up the opposition.
The Dragons are looking shellshocked and have all the work to do.

Second half underway...

43 min: TRY Newcastle Knights
Riley Brown scores next to posts after Daniel Tolar delivers a beaut offload close to the line.
Knights 30-0

46 min: NEWS NO TRY - Dragons. Ben Creagh ruled to have made a double movement.

48 min: TRY Newcastle Knights
Carmont gets his second try scoring in the corner. Follows some video ref scrutiny over the grounding.
Johns conversion from sideline is a ripper.
Knights 36-0

60 min: TRY Newcastle Knights
Kurt Gidley scores under the posts and the carve up continues. Dragons simply not marking up anymore.
Johns conversion makes him second highest scorer in the history of the comp.
Knights 42-0

66 min: TRY Newcastle Knights
Danny Buderus shows a great turn of speed from dummy half and crosses for his 50th career try, pushing off some half-hearted defence to run 30m to score near the uprights. Johns converts to post 2036 career points and getting closer to Jason Taylor's record.
Knights 48-0

71 min: NEWS Possible try to Knights. Video ref checking for obstruction...

71 min: TRY Newcastle Knights
Anthony Quinn gets the nod from the video ref as the Knights crack the half tonne.
Sideline conversion from Johns rubs salt into the Dragons wounds and the Knights go further ahead.
Knights 54-0

78 min: TRY St George Illawarra Dragons
Colin Best scores in the right corner after Barrett chips ahead for Ben Hornby from half way. Hornby finds Dean Young and then onto Darryl Millard who draws and passes to Best. A consolation try but top class from a well beaten side.
Aaron Gorrell converts.
Knights 54-6

Full time: Knights 54-6
A memorable victory for Newcastle who have blown the Dragons off the park, scoring 52 points in 43 minutes of football.
Enjoying 65% possession, the Knights made hay as the Dragons missed 38 tackles.
The entire Knights pack led the way with Buderus and Newton being the standouts. Johns played the whole match from halfback and simply killed them. Five-eighth Kurt Gidley was also outstanding.
For the Dragons, a number of players tried hard and it looked like they were missing some key players. But the missed tackles, and overall terrible defence, will come back to haunt them should the coach bring out the hatchet next week.
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Leagueunlimited.com players of the match:
3 - Andrew Johns (Knights)
2 - Danny Buderus (Knights)
1 - Kurt Gidley (Knights)
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Teams:
Dragons: Ben Hornby, Reece Simmonds, Daryl Millard, Matt Cooper, Colin Best, Mark Gasnier, Trent Barrett (c), Justin Poore, Dean Young, Michael Henderson, Sam Isemonger, Ashton Sims, Matt Bickerstaff
Interchange: Andrew Price, Ben Creagh, Corey Payne, Aaron Gorrell

Knights: Milton Thaiday, Brian Carney, Matthew Gidley, George Carmont, Anthony Quinn, Kurt Gidley, Andrew Johns (c), Craig Smith, Danny Buderus, Josh Perry, Steve Simpson, Kirk Reynoldson, Reegan Tanner
Interchange: Daniel Tolar, Riley Brown, Todd Lowrie, Clint Newton