GOLDEN BOOT COREY DOES IT AGAIN
COREY Norman nailed his second game-winning field goal in as many weeks to give St George Illawarra a 13-12 golden point NRL win over Newcastle.
Norman missed shots late in regular time and in the first period of extra time but then coolly slotted his third attempt in the 88th minute yesterday. Mitchell Pearce missed a 30m attempt and an audacious shot from halfway.
Norman’s clincher with two minutes to go came after an ineffective midfield bomb from Pearce, who struggled with his kicks for most of the night. The shattering loss took the gloss off an improved showing from Kalyn Ponga, who set up two tries at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Making his first start in the No.1 jumper following his unsuccessful five-eighth experiment, Ponga was back to his best with 169m. But it mattered little as the Knights failed to capitalise.
Neither team was able to gain ascendancy after the break, with Dragons winger Mikaele Ravalawa scoring the only try of the half.
A Ponga penalty goal in the 63rd minute levelled the scores, however that would be the end of the points in regular time.
Ponga’s highlights included an incredible cutout pass in the 11th minute to Edrick Lee.