NRL: Melbourne, St George and Brisbane level on points at top of table

Melbourne Storm and St George Illawarra Dragons have joined Brisbane at the top of the NRL standings, with victories in the seventh round of matches.

All three teams now have 10 points, with Melbourne sealing a narrow 17-16 victory over Sydney Roosters.

It was Storm’s third straight victory and achieved just 45 seconds from time thanks to Cooper Cronk's late drop goal.

Storm head the table on points difference, while Sydney were left to experience a third consecutive defeat.

Meanwhile, the Dragons beat Brisbane 12-10 as English-born forward Mike Cooper notched the match-winning try before Gareth Widdop added the decisive extra two points.           

The Dragons, who possess the best defensive record in the league, held off a late flurry by the Broncos to secure their fifth triumph in a row.

St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor said: "Considering we didn't really touch the ball in their half for the first 15 minutes of the second half, it showed some real character."

Elsewhere, Canberra trailed 22-0 after 25 minutes but recovered to beat Wests Tigers 30-22.         

Also on Sunday, Parramatta beat Newcastle Knights 28-22 and Gold Coast trounced Penrith 32-6, while North Queensland Cowboys came from 12-0 down after eight minutes to beat New Zealand Warriors 28-24. 

And Josh Reynolds scored three tries as Canterbury won 28-16 against Manly, who have lost six of their seven matches this year.