It just had to be Corey Norman. The player Nathan Brown thought long and hard about bringing to Newcastle late last year to play in the halves was the one who plunged the dagger into the hearts of the Knights in golden point last night.
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It came after a tough, drag 'em out, 88 minute slug-fest that neither side deserved to lose. Norman's snap field goal from 42 metres against an out-on-their-feet Knights defence was the difference.
For St George Illawarra, it was their second straight one point victory after Norman got them over the line with another long range field goal against the Broncos right on fulltime little more than a week ago.
Two match-winning moments in two games to justify the Dragons decision to bring him to the club.
The bitter irony last night would not have been lost on coach Brown. He was very keen on Norman.
So much so, he met with him twice late last season after it became clear Parramatta were keen to off-load the highly paid playmaker. He was impressed with him too. But in the end, Brown's decision to drop off was all to do with the nagging doubt about Norman's chequered off-field history and nothing to do with his on-field ability.
Golden point games generally become a field-goal shoot out lottery and last night was no exception, Norman missed with his first two attempts and Ben Hunt missed one for the Dragons while Mitchell Pearce could not convert his three attempts.
But the Knights will be more disappointed with their game management down the stretch.
Any sort of planning seemed to go out the window.
Fatigue would have been a factor. The referees have put their whistle in their pocket this season. For much of the game, the 10 metres was non-existent so there were few stoppages. Players were out on their feet.
Kalyn Ponga's return to fullback produced some dazzling moments. His two passes to first put winger Edrick Lee over out wide and then centre Hymel Hunt in for the Knights' second four pointer in the first half were exquisite.
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He was brilliant under the high ball and clearly, he looked far more at home at the back with a clear head and time on his hands without the burden of playing to structure in the front line.
But sometimes, his instincts let him down. None more so than with the teams locked at 12-all with seven minutes left when he produced a poorly executed cross-field kick for Lee on just the second tackle with the Knights pressing in great field position.
It was a rush of blood moment the young fullback would love to have back.
A defeat like that is deflating and leaves the Knights vulnerable with just one win from four games to open the season. But no-one should fault the effort from the players. The test now is picking themselves back up for Manly next week.
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