"Most everything that happened to them was rife with misfortune, misery and despair. I'm sorry to tell you this, but that is how this story goes."
Thus begins the popular children's book Lemony Snicket's Unfortunate Series of Events, but it could well apply to St George Illawarra after another heartbreaking night at the office.
It seems everything that could possibly go wrong for Nathan Brown's Dragons did. Their clash with North Queensland at WIN Stadium last night would have been a complete waste as a spectacle if not for some moments of brilliance from captain Johnathan Thurston and a late rally from the home side.
The Dragons bumbled, fumbled and stumbled in another match they could have won had they shown more composure.
It was going to be one of those nights as soon as Jason Ryles had yet another brain explosion with just 10 minutes gone.
Last week against the Sharks, Ryles gave away the penalty that decided the game. You'd think the experience would have chastened the big prop. You'd be wrong.
The former NSW and Australian forward smashed Thurston late after he got a kick away, conceding the first penalty of a very ordinary contest.
Rather than put his hand up and slink back into the defensive line, Ryles gave referee Tony De Las Heras a gobful - and was then marched a further 10 metres for his trouble.
Having said that, De Las Heras and his fellow officials deserved a spray. They denied legitimate tries and awarded four-pointers that should have been called back.
Their involvement didn't lift a horrible first-half spectacle watched by 11,639 diehard fans.
The game was a collection of barnyard oddities.
Dragons centre Matt Cooper's fluro orange boots were as ugly as sin. Back-rower Beau Scott almost had his shorts ripped from his buttocks five minutes before half-time. Nonplussed, he played through to the break as they dangled by a thread. Ugly.
Jamie Soward appeared to open the scoring just three minutes into the game when he stepped through a staggered Cowboys line.
Video referee Graeme West, however, hit the red button, ruling that Steve Southern was checked in the defensive line.
It was a harsh call, but there was some justice when Soward "scored" on the half-hour mark.
West was again asked to adjudicate and inexplicably ruled in favour of the home team. Replays suggested Soward knocked on.
Not once but twice.
In between those two bizarre decisions, Thurston was playing like a man with something to prove to Scott Prince and the Test selectors.
He chipped ahead, back-rower Luke O'Donnell got a lucky ricochet and then let the man who started the play finish it. The result of 40 minutes of shoddy football was an 8-6 lead to the Cowboys.
In fairness, the second half was better.
It looked like the visitors would streak away with it when they stretched the lead to 20-6 with just 23 minutes remaining.
Journeyman hooker-half Anthony Watts Luke scored early in the second stanza for the Cowboys when he scampered past dummy-half Josh Morris from close range. And Justin Smith seemingly killed the Dragons off when he finished off a some brilliant lead-up work from Thurston to cross in the right-hand corner.
But the Dragons almost turned a Brothers Grimm production into a fairytale when they scored twice in the space of five minutes to trail by just four points with 10 minutes of the game remaining. Winger Jason Nightingale scored the first after he leaping above the pack and then former Rabbitohs hooker Stuart Webb further narrowed the margin after collecting a brilliant round-the corner offload from Ben Hornby.
They had their chances near the end, but alas it was more of the same.
More misfortune, misery and despair for Dragons fans.
NORTH QUEENSLAND 20 (J Smith J Thurston A Watts tries J Thurston 4 goals) bt ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA 16 (J Nightingale J Soward S Webb tries J Soward 2 goals) at WIN Stadium. Referee: T De Las Heras. Crowd: 11,639.
