St George Illawarra come back from 28-10 down to beat Newcastle 32-28 in season’s weirdest game

IN one of the strangest matches you’ll see in 2017, the Dragons have come back from 28-10 down to beat Newcastle 32-28.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — JUNE 25: Jason Nightingale of the Dragons celebrates scoring a try with team mates during the round 16 NRL match between the St George Illawarra Dragons and the Newcastle Knights at UOW Jubilee Oval on June 25, 2017 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

A PAUL McGregor spray saved St George Illawarra’s season with Dragons players admitting their remarkable 22 point comeback against Newcastle was inspired by a “paint-stripping’’ halftime speech.

On jaw dropping day of rugby league at UOW Jubilee Oval that saw St George Illawarra mount the second biggest ever comeback in their history to break Newcastle’s hearts, the Dragons scored four unanswered second half tries to avoid being embarrassed by the Knights.

After Jason Nightingale bagged a hat-trick to reach his career try-scoring ton, Tyson Frizell admitted that McGregor told them their season was over unless they could come back from 28-10 to run down the Knights in a halftime dressing down.

“You could say that (the paint was being stripped from the walls’’, Frizell said.

“He gave us a good word and told us what it was at halftime. It was what we needed.’’

Dragons fans hurled abuse at St George Illawarra as they left the field at the break after Newcastle scored five tries in 20 minutes to humiliate the side that led the NRL earlier this year.

Newcastle winger Nathan Ross brought up his hat-trick in just the 31st minute as the Knights ran riot to embarrass the Dragons after the home side race to a 10-0 lead..

Enter McGregor.

“He made a big point of our important it was for our season,’’ said hat-trick hero Nightingale.

“And he was right. After those couple of weeks we have had and to play like that in the first half ... it was very important to get the win.

Nightingale ran in three tries on the left wing.

“It would have been hard to comeback if we lost that game. Physically we are great but mentally that could have been it. It would have taken a bit of time to get over that and you don’t have time in the NRL.’’

McGregor admitted that he told his team that their season would end if they failed to overhaul the cellar dwelling Knights in a speech that inspired the remarkable comeback that was led by Frizell and Josh Dugan just four days after the NSW pair played State of Origin.

“It was a big thing about defining who we are,’’ McGregor said.

Newcastle scored 28 unanswered points in the first half.

“We had to earn it and it is a big congratulations to the players and how they reacted to the halftime.

“It was definitely (a statement about our season). It wasn’t so much about winning or losing but we had to show the footy we could play.

“We had to earn the right and that now will kick start us.’’

Dugan made a staggering 246m and scored a try to set-up the Kogarah miracle while Frizell made 136m in just 11 charges to shatter the Knights.

Josh Dugan was immense at the back.

In a final forty that saw the Dragons fight and the Knights fold, Kurt Mann scored in the 67th minute to seal the line-in-the-sand win that snapped a two-game losing streak after Nightingale crossed in the corner to score his hat-trick.

The Dragons junior brought up another milestone by scoring his 100th NRL try.

“It is very exciting,’’ Nightingale said.

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“I have had a couple of lean (try-scoring) so it is nice to be playing outside Dugan and (Tim) Lafai this year and getting across.

“It is nice to bring it up here because it is my favourite ground and I had a lot of friends and family here.

“But it wouldn’t have felt like much of a highlight if we went on to lose the game.’’

The win was soured by injury with Paul Vaughan taken from the field with a calf strain in the first minute.

Knights coach Nathan Brown said the defeat was the most devastating he has suffered since joining the Knights.

ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA 32 (J Nightingale 3 J Dugan K Mann J Thompson tries G Widdop 4 goals) bt NEWCASTLE 28 (N Ross 3 B Elliot L Fitzgibbon tries B Lamb 4 goals) at UOW Jubilee Oval. Referee: Gavin Reynolds, Adam Gee. Crowd: 10,174