Dominic BrockUpdated June 19, 2026 — 8:19pm,first published 7:30pmYour say: Knights or Dragons?By Latest Posts8.19pmWatch: Sharpe finishes off a long-range Knights specialBy Newcastle have been among the best in the NRL at producing long-range tries this season, and started with another one tonight.8.17pmCook goes close for DragonsBy Some nice signs now from the Dragons, who get into the Knights’ half before Damien Cook senses a chance and goes for it. The veteran hooker darts out of dummy-half from the 20-metre line, gets to the 10 and grubbers ahead, but the kick is just too deep for the chasing Daniel Atkinson, who gets a hand to the ball as it goes over the dead-ball line.Knights 12, Dragons 0 after 14 minutes8.13pmTRY: Sharpe in again after Best brings down bombBy The signs aren’t good for the Dragons early on. The Knights go on the attack again, Dylan Brown has a lot of time to place a bomb, Bradman Best leaps for it, brings it down and offloads out the back for Fletcher Sharpe who has his second try inside the opening 10 minutes.Sandon Smith lands his second conversion of the night and we may be on track for another one-sided contest here.Knights 12, Dragons 0 after 10 minutes8.08pmTRY: Sharpe strikes after long-range Young line breakBy Dylan Brown puts up a very high bomb in Newcastle’s first foray into the Dragons half, but Clint Gutherson does well to bring it down despite a challenge from Bradman Best.But the hosts strike on their next chance, and do it from their own 30-metre line – a right-side shift leads to Dane Gagai drawing the outside defenders and unleashing Dominic Young down the sideline. Young draws Gutherson’s attention and sends a pass inside for Fletcher Sharpe to score the game’s first points.No Ponga, no worries for Newcastle so far.Knights 6, Dragons 0 after seven minutes8.04pmKick-offBy And we’re off. Fletcher Sharpe get things started for the Knights and Loko Jnr Pasifiki Tonga takes the game’s first hit-up for the Dragons. Pasifiki Tonga has another carry before the set is through, and Daniel Atkinson gets a decent kick away into the corner for Knights winger Greg Marzhew.Marzhew scored five tries in the demolition of the Dragons last month, so preventing a repeat of that will be the visitors’ first task tonight.Knights 0, Dragons 0 after two minutes7.58pmWatch: Highlights from the last time these teams metBy We’re a couple of minutes away from kick-off now, so while we wait here are the highlights from the earlier match between these sides in Wollongong in round 10.7.52pmStat match-up: How the Knights and Dragons compare in 2026By Comparing the statistics of Newcastle and St George Illawarra at the midpoint of the season, with each team having played 13 games.7.51pmKnights won’t be complacent against Dragons: HolbrookBy Knights coach Justin Holbrook is also downplaying his team’s 44-10 walloping of the Dragons in round 10, saying the Red V are a different team this month.“They’ve improved right across the park, they’ve competed really hard – they beat the Broncs, they led the Sharks, they competed against Penrith and the Warriors,” Holbrook tells Fox.“So their last month they’ve improved out of sight. We’re well aware of that, they’ve got a lot of experience back in their side, and they’re running the ball really hard. So we’re aware how much they’ve changed since we played them a month ago.”Knights coach Justin Holbrook.Getty Images7.45pmDragons ‘much better’ since their previous loss to Knights: YoungBy Interim coach Dean Young says his Dragons are a much improved team from the one that was humbled 44-10 at the hands of Newcastle last month.“We’re playing much better than we were back then,” Young tells Fox Sports before kick-off.“It starts at the ruck – we need to control the ruck, and if we do that our edges can go forward, and you don’t want to be defending their edges going backwards. We’ve done lots of work on it and I know the boys are looking forward to the challenge.”The Dragons have had a rough draw since then – facing league leaders Penrith and the Warriors, plus reigning premiers Brisbane and perennial top-five side Cronulla – but they showed they are capable of a surprise win by beating the Broncos. They have a real chance tonight if they start fast against a Newcastle side missing Kalyn Ponga and Dylan Lucas.Kalyn Ponga on the sidelines in Newcastle on Friday night.Getty ImagesPinned post from 7.28pmYour say: Knights or Dragons?By 1 of 2