The St George-Illawarra Dragons beat Sydney City 24-20 in controversial circumstances to record their fourth successive National Rugby League win yesterday and move into the top eight.
Down 0-16 midway through the first half, the Dragons mounted a superb fightback before a vocal home crowd.
But two Sydney City tries were disallowed
in the closing stages, leaving their players visibly fuming.
Halfback Pat Lam was contentiously ruled to have not grounded the ball over the tryline and minutes from the end a pass from Luke Ricketson to Ryan Cross was ruled forward by referee Steve Clarke after the video referee said it was too close to call.
Brisbane remain on top of the table after their 18-18 home draw with Melbourne on Friday. They are now only two points clear of the Wests Tigers, who beat another merged outfit, the Northern Eagles, 18-10 on the Central Coast on Saturday.
It was a sweet win for Tigers centre Terry Hill, who criticised Eagles coach Peter Sharp when the big centre was released from Manly last year.
A highlight was Kiwis and Wests prop Jason Lowrie opening the scoring with his first NRL try in 139 first-grade matches.
The Sharks continued their poor form with an 18-24 loss to the Raiders in Canberra yesterday that took the home side to third on the table.
The Newcastle Knights, without the playmaking Johns brothers, were still too strong for North Queensland at Marathon Stadium, emerging 28-6 winners.
New Zealand centre Timana Tahu bagged two tries, including one from a 90m intercept.
In two close matches on Saturday, the Eels downed Penrith 14-12, courtesy of a late try to winger Eric Grothe, while the Auckland Warriors and the Bulldogs played out a scratchy 18-18 draw.
- NZPA
