Rugby League: Knights put Dragons' fire out to keep lead but lose Johns

Newcastle maintained a one-point lead at the top of the National Rugby League table with a 32-24 win over St George Illawarra, but the win came at a big cost.

The Knights lost inspirational halfback Andrew Johns, who hobbled off late in the first half with a knee injury, as they toppled the Dragons, who were without banned skipper and Kiwi prop Craig Smith.

Johns, who has been in superb form, tore the medial ligament of his left knee and is likely to be out for up to eight weeks, meaning he will miss the State of Origin series between his New South Wales side and Queensland.

Johns had been tipped to oust incumbent Brett Kimmorley as the NSW No 7, but with unncanny timing, Kimmorley was back at his best as the Northern Eagles downed the Canberra Raiders 24-16 at Gosford.

Before he learned of Johns' injury, Kimmorley had a hand in all four Eagles' tries, setting up three and scoring the other to lead his side to consecutive victories for the first time this season.

Wests Tigers' miserable season struck another low yesterday when they suffered a record-breaking loss to Parramatta, conceding 11 tries in the 12-66 massacre.

The Tigers' previous worst defeat came the previous weekend when they lost 6-56 to Newcastle.

Parramatta went on a 20-minute scoring blitz to skip out to a 36-0 lead at halftime, prompting loud boos from the 14,802-strong home crowd.

Parramatta halfback Jason Taylor became the most successful goalkicker in premiership football, passing Mick Cronin's landmark of 865 goals.

Penrith centre Ryan Girdler is also an unlikely starter for the State of Origin after injuring a shoulder in the Panthers' 14-58 loss to Melbourne.

After a strong first half, Girdler did not return for the second half after popping a shoulder, and Penrith's chances went with him.

Melbourne halfback Matt Orford had a field day, scoring 22 points from two tries and seven goals.

In Townsville, North Queensland coach Tim Sheens came under even more pressure as the bottom-placed Cowboys lost to the Bulldogs, 14-26. A three-time premiership-winning coach with Canberra, Sheens has been the subject of constant rumours that he will be sacked.

Kiwis Nigel Vagana, for the Bulldogs, and Brian Jellick, for the Cowboys, scored tries as the Sydney-based team stayed two points off the competition lead.

On Friday night, defending champions Brisbane went top for 24 hours after a 35-16 home win over the Sharks.

- NZPA