A 79th-minute clanger by Marcelo Montoya has gifted St George Illawarra a dramatic 28-22 comeback NRL win over Canterbury in Wollongong.

Scores were locked with just minutes remaining on Saturday afternoon when Dragons five-eighth Corey Norman sprayed a field-goal attempt wide.

His miss resulted in the Bulldogs, just days after the sacking of coach Dean Pay, attempting to spread the ball wide, only for Montoya to drop a routine catch.

Norman picked up the loose ball and raced 35 metres for the game-winner.

It was a disastrous end to a game Canterbury had seemingly sewn up when they led by 12 points with 24 minutes to go under interim coach Steve Georgallis.

Compounding the defeat is a suspected foot injury to luckless playmaker Kieran Foran, who failed to return to the field after halftime.

The victory lifts the Dragons to within two points of the top eight, while the Bulldogs remain rooted to the bottom of the table.

Canterbury’s sorry week looked set for more pain when Zac Lomax soared spectacularly to take a Norman bomb in the opening minute.

His gravity-defying leaped resulted in the opening try for Matt Dufty, who put Euan Aitken over soon after to double their advantage.

But a Jeremy Marshall-King reply from close range against the run of play was the first of three unanswered tries before halftime.

Nick Meaney and Raymond Faitala-Mariner crossed within four minutes, while Meaney added a penalty goal just before the break.

The extra two points came after Tariq Sims was put on report for dangerous contact on Foran late in the first half.

Foran passed the concussion test, but was on the bench for the entire second half.

Both sides struggled to gain the ascendancy in the second term, but the Bulldogs looked home when Meaney potted over a second penalty goal in the 56th minute.

However Dragons tries to Jason Saab and Dufty, who finished off a 70-metre movement, within seven minutes ensured a grandstand finish.