NEWCASTLE coach Casey Bromilow said the Knights would still have plenty to play for in their final game despite being out of the running for the NRLW finals following Sunday's heavy loss to St George Illawarra.
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The Knights, who needed to win to have any hope of making the top four and playing finals, were hammered 40-4 by an in-form Dragons side at McDonald Jones Stadium.
They were outclassed by a more complete Dragons outfit and will be disappointed with their defence playing in front of a big crowd in what was their second and last home game of the season.
"We got ourselves into a hole and the more we tried to work our way out of it, it just got bigger and bigger," Bromilow said.
The Knights let in four tries in the first half but only trailed 16-4 at the break as the visitors failed to convert any of their tries.
However the Dragons, who now lead the competition, scored three tries in quick succession midway through the second half to more than double their half-time points tally and put the game beyond the home side.
It was the Dragons' expansive game that caused havoc for the Knights with all but two of their nine tries scored on the edges.
The loss of right centre Jayme Fressard only a few minutes into the game following a head knock didn't help the home side with three of the Dragons' first-half tries coming down that side of the field.
The Knights actually scored first through winger Autumn-Rain Stephens, who finished off a play down a short left edge to put the Knights four points ahead after six minutes.
But it was all the Dragons from then onward. Dragons winger Madison Bartlett scored two tries in the first half and centre Jaime Bartlett did the same in the second, while fullback Emma Tonegato scored a cracker under the crossbar from a scrum early in the second half then added the last try with a runaway effort late in the game.
The loss leaves the Knights winless after four rounds and puts them out of contention for the finals. They play the Gold Coast in Brisbane in their final game of the five-round regular season.
"We, as a group, don't want to go five games, five losses so we've still got plenty to play for," Bromilow said.
The coach said Knights halfback Tahlulah Tillett, who was helped from the field late in the game, would be sent for scans to determine if she had suffered a leg fracture.