The Newcastle Knights torrid relationship with scoring points continued on Friday night when their pedestrian attack did not trouble the Dragons defence in the slightest.
The Knights last play options were dull, ineffective and useless, leaning almost entirely on the gamble of kicking to the corner and hoping for the best. The Dragons eased into the match, but eventually took control and won comfortably.
Scoring started in the 21st minute when a very fast play-the-ball by Valentine Holmes allowed Kyle Flanagan to get the ball at first receiver, where he simply ran at the retreating defensive line and passed short to Jaydn Su'A who strolled through a gap and fell over the line for an easy try. Holmes converted.
Five minutes later, Jack de Belin made a break through the middle and passed to Clint Gutherson in support and the Dragons custodian scored a good try. Holmes converted.
Two minutes before the halftime break, Loko Jnr Pasifiki Tonga ran back on the inside, took a crash ball and barged over the line to score near the posts. Holmes converted and at halftime the Dragons had a solid 18-0 lead.
Fletcher Hunt very nearly opened the scoring for the Knights in the second half, but his attempt to knock a bomb back to his team mates, which he ended up collecting himself before diving over for what he thought was a try, was ruled to have been knocked forward.
In the 62nd minute Holmes kicked a penalty goal.
Five minutes later it looked like Tyrell Sloan had scored but as he dived for the corner, Hunt knocked the ball out with a brilliant tackle, denying the try.
With ten minutes remaining in the game, Leo Thompson took a ruck run close to the Dragons line, then flicked a great ball out the back to a hard running Kai Pearce-Paul and the backrower busted through the goal-line defence and scored a good try. Dane Gagai converted.
Holmes very nearly scored in the dying stages of the match as he tried to ground a grubber by Flanagan, but he couldn't pick the ball up cleanly in the Knights in-goal. The Dragons scored a solid 20-6 victory.