Warriors pipped by Dragons

The New Zealand Warriors' drought in Wollongong continued as the in-form St George-Illawarra pipped them 12-11 in a National Rugby League thriller today.

It was the Warriors' third nailbiter in as many weeks, and with their final throw of the dice, halfback Stacey Jones fumbled when setting for a field goal which would have sent it to golden point extra time with 1min 40sec left.

Both sides scored two tries, with the result leaving the Warriors winless at WIN Stadium since 1996 and left them outside the NRL top-eight with their fourth loss from eight matches.

The visitors defended stoutly and led for much of the second half, but made too many handling errors before Dragons second rower Ben Creagh charged over in the 71st minute to give his side a one-point lead.

It continued the Dragons' resurgence under new coach Wayne Bennett, their sixth win from eight matches to stamp their title credentials.

Warriors coach Ivan Cleary reshuffled his side with four late changes, including Nathan Fien into five-eighth, Joel Moon to centre and Simon Mannering into the second row.

The Warriors led 7-2 after a disjointed first half dominated by 11 penalties from referees Ben Cummins and Jason Robinson.

After an early period of Dragons attack and some worrying missed tackles, the Warriors got going thanks to five consecutive penalties.

The last was goaled by Patrick Ah Van after a concerted raid which included a disallowed try to Manu Vatuvei for a Jerome Ropati forward pass.

Dragons five-eighth Jamie Soward levelled 2-2 after a high Wade McKinnon tackle which forced a groggy Matt Cooper from the field.