Dragons notch second straight win

Marshall, the 31-year-old playmaker who faces an uncertain future with the Dragons beyond this season, scored a try and had a hand in three others to remind everyone that he is far from a spent force.

Against the NRL’s worst defensive team, the Dragons made the most of the chance to enhance their attacking statistics and advance, temporarily at least, from 10th to sixth on the ladder.

The most points the Dragons had previously scored in any game this season was in their 34-24 loss to South Sydney in round 11.

For Newcastle, it was their ninth successive defeat.

The Knights faced a half-time deficit of 22-6 and were lucky the scoreline was not worse, after Gareth Widdop converted only one of the Dragons’ five first-half tries.

The carnage started in only the second minute when the Dragons spun the ball to their right edge to find Newcastle alarmingly short of numbers, and winger Kalifa Faifai Loa scored in the corner.

Seven minutes later, the Dragons worked a set move and young back-rower Jacob Host crashed over for his maiden top-grade try.

Newcastle’s left edge was again exposed six minutes later when Marshall put centre Euan Aitken over to make it 14-0.

The Knights finally responded in the 30th minute with a freakish try by winger Nathan Ross, his sixth of the season.

After centre Brendan Elliot batted a pass to Ross, the livewire sprinted 10 metres down the sideline before launching himself like a high-jumper and planting the ball one-handed in the corner.

Knights skipper Trent Hodkinson converted from touch to bring the Knights back to within eight points.

But the Dragons did not take long to regain the ascendancy, when centre Tim Lafai finished off a try created by a classic Marshall cut-out pass.

Then in the last minute of the first half, Marshall showed some of his old magic when he speared through a gap and raced 20 metres to score.

Hoping to stem the flow of points, Knights coach Nathan Brown reshuffled his backline during the break, switching Queensland Origin star Dane Gagai to fullback and moving Peter Mata’utia from custodian to left-side centre.

But it took only five minutes of the second stanza for Marshall to again show his class, popping a perfect short ball for back-rower Joel Thompson to crash over.

Newcastle showed more resolve thereafter and were rewarded in the 65th minute when Gagai grubber kicked ahead and Sione Mata’utia connverted.

Then seven minutes from full-time, Knights back-rower Mitchell Barnett – a new recruit from Canberra – steamed onto a short ball and wrestled his way over to score his first NRL try.

The Knights played the last minute with 12 men after Nathan Ross was sin-binned, allowing Widdop to kick a penalty.