From their first steps on the field, it was made clear what the red and blue's mission was - to go in strong and limit the Dragons' chances of getting on the board.

Four minutes in, Knights prop Tim Glasby secured the first try of the afternoon, ultimately his second for the season.

From then on, the first half had Kayln Ponga's name written all over it after the fullback kept placing down try after try, conversion after conversion, penalty after penalty, putting on a real show for the Mudgee crowd.

Newcastle's Kurt Mann scored the final try of the first half by stepping through St George's Jai Field, breaking through the defence to bring the half-time board to 28-0.

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It took some 20 minutes after two tries had been put down by Shaun Kenny-Dowall and Mitchell Pearce, respectively, in the second half before Tariq Sims passed Knights' Jesse Ramien to get the home side on the board.

Five minutes later, Zac Lomax dived for the corner to give the Red V their second for the day but it was not enough to stop the Knights' with Connor Watson placing one down in the 71st minute.

With one minute left on the clock, Pearce successfully kicks a drop goal from 35 meters out from the try line to crown the Knights with a 45-12 win over the Dragons.

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