St George Illawarra maintained their fine recent form with a 24-16 victory over Newcastle Knights at EnergyAustralia Stadium.

The win takes the Dragons unbeaten sequence to seven games and Nathan Brown's men must now rank as surprise finals contenders after losing five of their opening six fixtures.

The Knights were not at the races in the first period and trailed 14-0 at the break thanks to tries from Chase Stanley and Josh Morris.

The Dragons extended the lead early in the second half with tries from Jamie Soward and Jason Ryles putting the visitors 24-0 in front.

Newcastle finally broke their duck after 57 minutes through Junior Sau and the replacement doubled his tally less than five minutes later to reduce the deficit to 24-10.

The Knights finished the match strongly and at one point a remarkable comeback was on the cards but it was not to be. Brian Smith's side did muster a last gasp consolation try through the impressive Kurt Gidley but the Dragons ran out deserved 24-16 winners.

Newcastle's disappointment at a third successive loss was compounded by the news that prop Jesse Royal would be missing for six weeks after sustaining a medial ligament strain.