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AAP
AAP
Sport
Scott Bailey

Dragons top ladder after record NRLW win

St George Illawarra have overwhelmed Newcastle 40-4 to go top of the NRLW premiership table. (AAP)

St George Illawarra have gone top of the NRLW ladder for the first time in their history after knocking Brisbane off their perch with a record 40-4 win over Newcastle.

With one round to play before finals, the Dragons flexed their muscle with the biggest win of all-time in the NRLW while becoming the first team to score 40 points in a match.

Teagan Berry, Jaime Chapman, Emma Tonegato and Madison Bartlett all bagged doubles in the drubbing, with the latter's haul coming in her return game from suspension for biting.

The win means the Broncos are not top of the premiership table for only the second week in the NRLW's history.

And after being wooden spooners in two of the competition's three seasons, teams will now seriously be looking at the Dragons as title frontrunners under coach Jamie Soward.

"I couldn't care what they say," Soward said.

"I didn't really know about (the ladder), I don't think the girls did either.

"They didn't watch much (Brisbane lose to Gold Coast) yesterday and today it was straight to the sheds.

"It's onto next week for us."

Their only concern was a lower back injury sustained by halfback Rachael Pearson, however the club is confident the issue is only minor and she has been battling it for weeks.

In a brutally one-sided affair, the Dragons had 65 per cent of the ball as the winless Knights could only complete 12 sets in the 70 minutes at their home ground.

The Red V also missed just five tackles, while Elise Albert was again dominant in the middle as she finished with 136 metres and lock Holli Wheeler had 131.

Tonegata's first try was the pick of the day, stepping two defenders from a scrum 30 metres out to go over under the posts.

It kickstarted a second-half demolition job, as the Dragons ran in five tries in the space of 15 minutes.

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