By Scott Bailey and Jacob Shteyman

One week after posting the NRL’s biggest-ever score by a losing side, St George Illawarra now need the record of the biggest-ever by a winning team to boost their finals hopes.

But they won’t go chasing it, and nor will Canberra.

Saturday afternoon’s clash at Kogarah represents one of the more bizarre final-round permutations imaginable in rugby league.

The winner of Dragons and Raiders will progress to the finals, but only if Newcastle and the Dolphins draw on Sunday.

The other alternative is even more far-fetched.

The Dragons can make the finals if both they and Newcastle win this weekend, provided their victory margin is 76 points better than the Knights’.

Canberra face a similar scenario, needing to win by 81 more points than Newcastle.

In the 116-year history of top-flight rugby league in Australia, only twice has a team scored more than 75 points.

Both instances came in back-to-back weeks against a woeful 1935 Canterbury side.

“I believe in some (miracles), but not in football,” Dragons coach Shane Flanagan said.

“To push the score out and that sort of stuff is not important to me.”

A draw between the Knights and Dolphins is slightly more likely.

But even then, in the 4161 regular-season games played since golden point was introduced in 2003, only around 0.43 per cent of matches have finished level.

Still, it is there where Raiders coach Ricky Stuart hasn’t given up some hope.

He is happy to admit he spent this week looking up golden-point stats, and the fact one of the Knights and Dolphins have played in half of the 10 extra-time games this year.

And as a club, the Knights account for four of the 18 draws in golden-point history.

“Not to say I was that curious,” Stuart said with a wry grin.

“(As for points differential), I haven’t talked about it. I’ve just talked about winning.”

Flanagan is too frustrated to consider either scenario, after his side threw away their spot in the top eight with a 44-40 loss to Parramatta last week.

“I don’t want to go into all that, because it’s pie in the sky,’ Flanagan said.

“I’m frustrated we won’t play semi-finals.

“To fall at the final hurdle is something we have to address and will address. I can guarantee it won’t happen next year.”

The Dragons will debut Canberra-bound outside back Savelio Tamale, after Jack Bird was withdrawn through back soreness.

Flanagan also conceded it was likely Bird had played his last game for the club, after being granted to permission to look elsewhere and meeting with the Wests Tigers on Tuesday.

But the Dragons coach rejected claims he sprayed captain Ben Hunt after lost week’s loss to the Eels, with dressing-room cameras capturing the pair in an animated conversation.

“If people are going to comment it was a spray they should be able to lip read,” Flanagan said.

“It wasn’t even close to a spray.

“It was an explanation of what I thought should have happened in the last play of the game, which we had practised.”