St George Illawarra Coach Paul McGregor has praised veteran winger Jason Nightingale who bagged his third hat-trick of the year in the Dragons 32-28 win over the Newcastle Knights on Sunday at Kogarah and in the process passed 100 tries for the club.

The Dragons trailed 28-10 at the break but powered home to claim a much needed win against the battling Knights.

“He’s (Nightingale) been outstanding, like a bottle of red wine, he keeps getting better with age,” McGregor said.

“He’s always a guy that goes out there and plays to his potential.

“He’s a big metre-eater at the back of the field, he knows how to get to the try-line and the boys really like his leadership.

“He’s a pleasure to coach.”