St. George Illawarra returns to 1st place in NRL

SYDNEY — St. George Illawarra regained their place atop the table in Australia's National Rugby League on Monday with a thrilling 18-16 win over the Sydney Roosters.

Tries to Euan Aitken, Tariq Sims and Nene Macdonald gave the Dragons a 14-6 lead at halftime and they looked on target to easily replace Penrith in first place.

But second-half tries to Will Hopoate and Brett Morris gave the Roosters a shock 16-14 lead and St. George needed two late penalties to England star Gareth Widdop to regain the lead and a narrow victory.

St. George returned to the top of the table with their 10th win from 13 games. They lead by a single point on differential from Penrith, who beat Canberra 23-22 earlier in the round and also have a 10-3 record.