Dean Young found it "hard to sit through" parts of St George Illawarra's 44-10 loss to Newcastle, who were powered to victory by five tries from Greg Marzhew.
But the interim coach insists the winless Dragons are improving under his watch, despite a 13th consecutive defeat that keeps them two wins behind second-last on the ladder.
From Marzhew's first try after eight minutes, the Dragons were never really in Saturday's contest in Wollongong and trailed 32-0 at half-time - even further behind than against the Sydney Roosters on Anzac Day.
That 62-16 last-start defeat could at least be partially explained by a disjointed preparation that included Shane Flanagan's axing five days before kick-off.
But Saints were similarly uncompetitive in Young's second game, which came after a full fortnight's preparation during the bye.
"It got pretty ugly in the first half. It was pretty hard to sit through," Young said.
"I feel for our fans, to sit through another scoreline like that ... they're not getting the results, and some of the results have been quite ugly, to be honest."
But Young can see improvements in the club's training standards and was buoyed by a closer 12-10 second half on Saturday.
"We've improved in a week-and-a-half through the way we're training," he said.
"How long it takes to get on the field, that's anyone's guess."
Injuries to Moses Suli (back) and Dan Atkinson (hand) brought Lyhkan King-Togia into the halves and pushed Clint Gutherson from fullback to centre before kick-off.
In his 150th game, fullback Kalyn Ponga helped the Knights eviscerate both makeshift edges, with the visitors particularly adept at attacking from long range.
The Knights exposed King-Togia and out-of-sorts Val Holmes on the left edge and Kade Reed proved a popular target on the other side.
Ponga breezed straight past the second-gamer as he put Dylan Lucas over for the fifth of Newcastle's six first-half tries.
Stopping a fully-loaded Knights side was always going to be difficult, but the Dragons did little to help themselves.
King-Togia threw an intercept pass for Bradman Best to score an 80-metre try that reminded NSW coach Laurie Daley of his Origin credentials.
Marzhew had his second try by flopping over from dummy-half in the first half, to the embarrassment of Gutherson and Reed defending the tryline.
The left winger had back-to-back hat-tricks after crashing past Setu Tu on the last tackle midway through the second half, and a first four-try haul thanks to Best's flick pass.
His fifth try came in the final minutes sprinting into open space at close range.
The Dragons had two second-half tries off grubber kicks to the right edge.
Winger Mat Feagai went off injured with a back injury during the second half, with Holmes also set for scans on a shoulder issue.
The search for an elusive first win of 2026 will only become more difficult for the Dragons, who face ladder-leading Penrith at Magic Round for their next game.
Top-four side the Warriors, reigning premiers Brisbane and perennial contenders Cronulla follow before the bye, with only one of those games coming at home.
The Knights' win continues their turnaround under first-year Justin Holbrook, who has helped the reigning wooden spooners to a 6-4 record.
"To see them play the way they are, it's a pleasure to watch. We're going to keep getting better," Holbrook said.