The Sydney Roosters look set to miss out on the finals for the first time in a decade after going down 44-6 to St George Illawarra in tonight's NRL match at WIN Stadium.

St George Illawarra centre Mark Gasnier was the hero for the home team, scoring three tries and setting up another, as the Dragons blew the Roosters off the park in the second half.

The Roosters, who were languishing in 12th position on 20 competition points coming into the match, may need to win all of their remaining games to have any chance of qualifying for the finals.

They play Penrith away, Cronulla and South Sydney at home before visiting Brisbane and finishing the regular season at home against reigning premiers the Bulldogs.

The task seems beyond them on tonight's form, with the Roosters unable to hold a rampant Dragons attack which seemed to score at will in the second half.

Nine of the last 13 clashes between the teams have been decided by four points or less and there was again nothing between the teams in the opening 40 minutes, with the sides locked at 6-6.

But when Gasnier set up a try to Colin Best with one of his trademark offloads in just the first minute of the second half, it was the beginning of the end for the Roosters.

Six minutes later Wes Naiqama made a 60-metre bust and, with the Roosters line still in disarray, Greenshields barged over from close range.

In all, the Dragons scored six second-half tries, with Shaun Timmins (71st minute) and Lance Thompson (80th minute) adding to Gasnier's two-try second-half haul.

It was a much tougher contest in the first half, when winger Amos Roberts intercepted a Ben Hornby pass and sprinted the length of the field untouched to score the opening four-pointer.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP