St George Illawarra now face finishing the season with the worst losing streak in joint venture history.
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The Dragons have not won a game since the infamous Paul Vaughan barbecue which breached the NRL's strict COVID biosecurity measures and resulted in the former NSW prop, who has signed with the Bulldogs for next season, sacked by the club.
Officially out of the finals running, a loss in their remaining game against South Sydney on Saturday night would be their eighth consecutive defeat, since Corey Norman's field goal secured a 19-18 win over the Warriors in round 16.
The last time the Dragons lost seven in a row was back in 2015, in Paul McGregor's first full season in charge.
Not since the Steelers teams of 1988 and 1989 has an Illawarra team suffered a longer run of outs.
In 1988 under coach Terry Fearnley, the Steelers lost 11 in a row, before beating Easts in the final round of the season, while in 1989 with Ron Hilditch in charge, they were beaten in their first eight games on their way to the wooden spoon.
The Dragons led North Queensland 20-10 at half-time on Saturday, but capitulated after the break, falling 38-26, a result which snapped the Cowboys own losing streak of 10 games.
It leaves St George Illawarra languishing in 12th spot on the ladder, officially out of the finals running.
"We needed to get that (win), at half-time we were looking OK but, clearly, we threw that one away," Dragons coach Anthony Griffin said.
"We had the first five-six minutes of possession down their end [in the second half] and then we gave away an intercept on last play.
"They put together some decent attack coming out of their own end, but for a couple of sets there we were really poor and that paid.
"In the end there wasn't too much in it, a couple of intercepts to them and that period where they got three tries, Unfortunately that killed us off."
They may have matched the 2015 record of dropping seven games in a row, but in that season the Dragons still made the finals, beaten in an elimination thriller 11-10 by the Bulldogs.
Saturday's opponents the Rabbitohs are third on the NRL ladder, but their premiership hopes received a major blow, with star fullback Latrell Mitchell copping a six-game ban for his shot on the Roosters' Joey Manu.
If there was a positive for Griffin, as they slide towards their piece of unwanted club history, it was the moments of brilliance among the combination of fullback Tyrell Sloan, five-eighth Talatau Amone and hooker Jayden Sullivan.
"They were terrific," Griffin said.
"You see their natural ability and today will help them long-term.
"They came up with inexperience on a couple of plays that probably weren't the right plays at the right time. We also saw their natural ability and their brilliance. As much as that hurts today, it's a great experience for them and they'll learn from that."
IN FREEFALL
Losing streaks in Dragons and Steelers history
St George Illawarra
2021: Seven games* (play Souths in the last round), 2015: Seven.
Illawarra Steelers
1988: 11 games, 1985: Nine, 1989: Eight.
St George
1926: Eight games, 1922: Seven.
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Tim Barrow
When it comes to sport - at professional and community level - in the Illawarra, I'm here to provide insight, context and opinion, as well as the latest news you won't find anywhere else.
When it comes to sport - at professional and community level - in the Illawarra, I'm here to provide insight, context and opinion, as well as the latest news you won't find anywhere else.
