St George Illawarra all but extinguished Wests Tigers' NRL finals hopes last night with a 21-10 win at at the Sydney Football Stadium.
The win leaves the Dragons equal top of the ladder with the Bulldogs, who in last night's other game beat the North Queensland Cowboys 30-18 at ANZStadium.
The Dragons' win was their fifth from five matches; the Tigers have lost six of their past seven games and face another season of watching finals football from the sidelines - unless they can win eight of their last nine matches.
The Tigers struggled to find a way through another standout defensive effort from the stingiest defence in the league.
They were not helped by a shocking night for Benji Marshall whose passes found the ground and the sideline more often than a teammate.
At ANZ Stadium, second-chance winger Bryson Goodwin bagged a double in the Bulldogs' solid win over the Cowboys.
Dumped by Cronulla last year and handed a minimum wage deal by the Dogs, Goodwin proved his claim to bargain buy of the year by scoring his 14th try in as many games.
For his second try, Goodwin blazed away from 40m out in the 53rd minute, restoring his side's 18 point lead.
The win ended the Bulldogs' four-game losing streak against the Cowboys.
