Holbrook Praises Tenacious Dragons Following Hard-Fought Win

In an intense clash, the Newcastle Knights managed to narrowly outplay a determined St George Illawarra Dragons, with coach Justin Holbrook expressing his relief, stating he was just "happy to win" as the Dragons fought valiantly until the very end.

The Knights initially took command, racing ahead with a 12-0 advantage. However, the Dragons demonstrated resilience, battling back to come within a hair's breadth of snatching victory, ultimately losing 22-20.

In a critical moment, Dragons halfback Kyle Flanagan had an opportunity to seize the game after receiving support from a Daniel Atkinson kick, but he could not secure possession over the try line.

Holbrook lauded the courageous efforts of the Dragons, who kept the pressure on the Knights throughout the encounter. He also acknowledged the performance of his own relatively inexperienced players who rose to the occasion.

"We had Thomas Cant playing 80 minutes, Francis (Manuleleua) playing massive minutes, Cody Hopwood playing big minutes. They all haven't been playing much NRL this year, so there was plenty of good signs for us."

He highlighted Fletcher Sharpe's impressive adaptation to the fullback position in place of the rested Kalyn Ponga, who was busy with State of Origin duties.

Additionally, Holbrook praised Sandon Smith, whose outstanding kicking performance proved crucial, converting all five of his attempts.

"(Sharpe's) back to his best now, which is great. We've got the luxury of resting Kalyn and having him move back there," he noted.

"He's been great whether he's playing five-eighth or fullback for us, and I thought Sandon Smith competed hard to get to the own kick to score that try, and slotted all his goals."