ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS 10 NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS 44
CALLUM WALKER, WIN Stadium, Wollongong, Saturday

GREG MARZHEW equalled a Newcastle Knights record with five tries as St George Illawarra Dragons succumbed to their ninth defeat in a row.

Marzhew and the Knights ran rampant as the Dragons still search for their first win of the 2026 campaign.

The writing was on the wall as early as the eighth minute when Marzhew grabbed his first, before Dom Young – keen not to be overshadowed by his teammate – flew in at the corner.

Try as they might, St George simply had no reply to the power and pace of their opponents and it was Marzhew that crossed again just after the midway point in the first-half.

Bradman Best got in on the act on the half-hour mark with Dylan Lucas and Young again increasing the damage just before half-time.

34-0 down at the break and the Dragons finally had something to cheer about in front of their home fans within four minutes of the resumption when Hamish Stewart dotted down.

But, two more Marzhew efforts in four minutes racked up a 40-4 scoreline.

Setu Tu did manage to stem the Knights’ flow on the hour, but the evening belonged to Marzhew and Newcastle as the powerful winger registered his fifth with four minutes to go.

DRAGONS: 1 Clint Gutherson, 2 Setu Tu, 4 Valentine Holmes, 19 Tyrell Sloan, 5 Mathew Feagai, 20 Lyhkan King-Togia, 7 Kade Reed, 8 Emre Guler, 9 Damien Cook (C), 10 Toby Couchman, 11 Dylan Egan, 14 Josh Kerr, 13 Hamish Stewart. Subs: 12 Ryan Couchman, 15 Loko Jnr Pasifiki Tonga, 16 Blake Lawrie (not used), 17 Jacob Halangahu, 18 Kyle Flanagan (not used), 22 Christian Tuipulotu

Tries: Stewart (44), Tu (65); Goals: Holmes 1/2

KNIGHTS: 1 Kalyn Ponga (C), 2 Dominic Young, 3 Dane Gagai, 4 Bradman Best, 5 Greg Marzhew, 6 Fletcher Sharpe, 7 Dylan Brown, 8 Jacob Saifiti, 9 Phoenix Crossland, 10 Trey Mooney, 11 Dylan Lucas, 12 Jermaine McEwen, 13 Mat Croker. Subs: 14 Sandon Smith, 15 Tyson Frizell, 16 Pasami Saulo, 17 Francis Manuleleua (not used), 18 Harrison Graham (not used), 19 Fletcher Hunt

Tries: Marzhew (8, 24, 54, 58, 76), Young (17, 37), Best (30), Lucas (33); Goals: Ponga 4/9

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-4, 0-10, 0-16, 0-22, 0-28, 0-32; 4-32, 4-36, 4-40, 10-40, 10-44

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Dragons: Ryan Couchman; Knights: Greg Marzhew

Penalty count: 5-3; Half-time: 0-32; Referee: Todd Smith; Attendance: 10,916