Norman delivers to hand St George Illawarra Dragons thrilling NRL victory
Dragons Den
Saviour: Corey Norman lands the match-winning field goal for St George Illawarra on Sunday night. Picture: NRL Photos/Paul Barkley.
Two weeks in a row the Dragons have looked to someone to stand up with the game on the line.
And two weeks in a row Corey Norman has stepped up to deliver his team the victory.
After last week's
Suncorp Stadium heroics, this week it was a field goal from 42 metres out in the 87th minute to secure a thrilling 13-12 golden-point victory.
"Character's like that do [love the big moment]," Dragons coach Paul McGregor said of Norman. "He wants the footy at important times and that's what your better playmakers do, they want to go after the game instead of trying to hide away from it.
"That's one thing he's done in the last couple of weeks, he's wanted that footy at the right time and he's come up with two clutch plays."
The field goal was Norman's third attempt of the match, with Newcastle half Mitchell Pearce also unable to capitalise on three chances with boot.
For Norman, the early misses had no bearing on his mindset heading into the third, and deciding, kick.
"I just took it upon myself to step up and have a crack," Norman said. "I think I said it last week, I don't have a very good success rate at field goals, but somehow they keep going over at the moment, so I'll take it.
"Obviously I'm going to back myself, I missed the first two and then that third one, I'm going to step up and believe I'm going to hit it."
Norman was among the Dragons best throughout the game, combining with halves partner Ben Hunt to deliver a high-quality kicking performance and ensure St George Illawarra were able to secure good field possession throughout the match.
A topsy-turvy match, neither side was able to claim the ascendancy for an extended period of time.
No team was able to land consecutive blows, with the lead changing hands five times before the Knights levelled the scores thanks to a Kalyn Ponga penalty goal in the 63rd minute.
The two points came in controversial circumstances, with Tariq Sims penalised for a late hit on Knights halfback Mitchell Pearce.
The incident sparked a melee, with replays later showing David Klemmer landing a punch on Sims' chin. Missed by referees, Klemmer remained on the field and avoided the sin bin.
After leading 10-8 at the break, the two points were Newcastle's only points in the second half, with the Dragons taking the lead in the 55th minute courtesy of a Mikaele Ravalawa try. Latching on to a Matt Dufty cutout pass, Ravalawa beat Edrick Lee to cross in the corner.
The win, the Dragons second of the season, was a costly one, with Korbin Sims suffering a suspected broken arm in just his second match in the Red V. Remarkably, Sims played 15 minutes of the first half with the injury.
The Dragons went into the sheds trailing by two points after a fairly balanced first half.
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Both sides were able to move the ball freely, working their way up and down the field.
Tim Lafai opened the scoring for St George Illawarra with a seventh minute penalty goal, however it would be the Knights who would cross for the first try of the game, courtesy of Lee, who latched on to a brilliant Kalyn Ponga cutout pass.
Ponga was among the Knights best throughout the match, looking dangerous each time he touched the ball, especially down Newcastle's left attacking flank.
Making his return from a lacerated testicle, Tyson Frizell was injected into the match in the 24th minute and it did not take long for the representative forward to make an immediate impact, making a barnstorming run with his first carry before stripping Mitchell Pearce to stroll over for a try just seconds later.
The Dragons right edge troubles continued in the 29th minute, however, with Ponga finding Hymel Hunt to take advantage of a couple of poor defensive reads and hand his side the lead 10-8.
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