St George Illawarra have held out a fast-finishing Wests Tigers – just – in the battle of the joint-venture rebuilds, securing a nail-biting 24-22 victory at Commbank Stadium.

A sparse Sunday afternoon crowd of just 9773 said plenty as to the stakes in this 17th v 14th affair.

So too did the Dragons’ two-point triumph though, securing their first back-to-back wins since August last year and consigning the Tigers to an eighth-straight loss.

The Tigers ran last in this two-horse race for all-but the final 10 minutes, but threatened one hell of a jailbreak when rookie centre Solomone Saukuru bagged two tries and put a grandstand finish in play.

With just two wins from their past 15 games, the Tigers have slid from second on the ladder to the bottom four, reinforcing their cellar-dwelling status with seemingly never-ending drama around Jarome Luai, Adam Doueihi, professional standards and players vaping along the way.

St George Illawarra’s late-season revival, meanwhile, continues to impress. It may yet eventually shove them up the ladder too.

With three games remaining, they are now only two wins adrift of Brisbane as the premiers endure one of the most stunning post-premiership slides in rugby league history. Stranger things have happened in this game than the Dragons dodging the wooden spoon. They’re certainly playing well beyond that dishonour.

Daniel Atkinson’s move to fullback to cover for injured captain Clint Gutherson showed promise – especially welcome promise at that, given his struggles in the halves as a marquee recruit.

A bench utility role, or perhaps a start at centre, looms for Atkinson given Scott Drinkwater, Luke Metcalf and Kodi Nikorima all arrive next season.

It was Atkinson who threw the last pass for Tyrell Sloan to score the Dragons’ first of the afternoon after an early Valentine Holmes HIA played into the Tigers opening the scoring.

Sunia Turuva had his first try since April when Hamish Stewart was caught defending at centre in St George Illawarra’s hasty backline reshuffle.

But when first Doueihi and then Luai were exposed with lackadaisical defensive efforts, the Tigers were in all sorts and trailing 18-6 at half-time.

Doueihi would be disappointed with his jumper-grabbing effort on his tryline as Stewart roared past him in the 31st minute. Luai was just as culpable a few minutes before the break when Moses Suli broke through and ran 45 metres to score.

Suli, who is contracted for 2027 but has also been told he is free to find a new club, doubled down with a fine defensive effort to start the second half when he chopped down a tryline-bound Jahream Bula.

Doueihi kept the Tigers in the game by setting up Samuela Fainu’s try, while Holmes did the same as his last pass for Sloan floated forward to deny what should have been a simple four-pointer.

It mattered little though when the Super League-bound flyer broke into the backfield and put Lyhkan King-Togia’s try on a platter with a wonderful chip kick.

The Tigers did eventually find their voice and some attacking flair, finished off twice by Saukuru, but ultimately, deservedly, fell short.

So it goes when you’re at the wrong end of the ladder and rebuilding. Though right now, in the short-term at least, the two joint-ventures are travelling in opposite directions.

Knights keep top-four hopes alive with win over Titans

Jack Brady

Dane Gagai, Greg Marzhew and Fletcher Sharpe all scored try doubles as Newcastle kept their slim hopes of a top-four finish alive with a 36-26 home win over the Gold Coast.

With a final-round bye in hand and fifth-placed Cronulla staring down consecutive losses, the Knights sit just two competition points adrift of the fourth-placed Dolphins.

An unlikely top-four berth would complete a remarkable 12-month turnaround for the Knights following their 2025 wooden spoon finish.

Sunday’s 10-point win wasn’t without its issues for Newcastle with Dane Gagai failing to return after half-time with a reported hamstring injury.

The absence of the veteran centre led to an unexpected first grade debut for Toby Winter, who three months ago was playing in the SG Ball under-19s grand final.

A crucial try-saving tackle by the 19-year-old on back-rower Beau Fermor proved the highlight of his maiden game.

Gagai’s double and winger Marzhew’s first try all came within 18 minutes, and held Newcastle in good stead at 16-0.

But the Titans overcame a hefty penalty deficit to keep in touch with the Knights through tries for Fermor and Jayden Campbell.

A critical intervention from the bunker minutes into the second half prevented the Titans from hitting the lead, when it ruled that centre Jojo Fifita’s elbow had hit the ball in the lead-up to him scoring.

Ill-discipline was the story of the day for the Titans and soon led to Newcastle centre Fletcher Hunt, who had been denied by the bunker twice in the game, capping off a long-range effort to extend his side’s lead.

Kurtis Morrin’s try in the 57th minute was countered by the Knights within four minutes through a darting 55-metre dummy-half try-scoring run from five-eighth Sharpe.

Further tries to Marzhew and Sharpe rounded out the win for the Knights, despite the best efforts of Fermor and halfback Lachlan Ilias at the death.

AAP