Brendan Wood reviews the Newcastle Knights dominant 44-4 win over the Wests Tigers in Newcastle. Here’s how the game went:
MATCH TIMELINE
| Minute | Scoring Play | Score |
| 10th | Try – Kalyn Ponga (Knights) | Knights 6-0 |
| 14th | Try – Hymel Hunt (Knights) | Knights 12-0 |
| 16th | Penalty Goal – Kalyn Ponga (Knights) | Knights 14-0 |
| 24th | Try – Starford To’a (Knights) | Knights 18-0 |
| 36th | Try – Luciano Leilua (Tigers) | Knights 18-4 |
| 40th | Try – Jacob Saifiti (Knights) | Knights 24-4 |
| 44th | Try – Herman Ese’ese (Knights) | Knights 28-4 |
| 47th | Try – Kalyn Ponga (Knights) | Knights 34-4 |
| 62nd | Try – Gehamat Shibasaki (Knights) | Knights 38-4 |
| 70th | Try – Pheonix Crossland (Knights) | Knights 44-4 |
MATCH SUMMARY
1st Half
Kalyn Ponga opened the scoring for the Knights inside the first 10 minutes. New Knight Blake Green threw an inside ball for Ponga to step through some soft defence from the Tigers and score under the posts. Following this, the Knights got their second try after a miraculous offload from Mitchell Barnett setup Hymel Hunt to score untouched. With the Tigers reeling from two early blows, the Knights got a penalty right in front an opted to take the two points, extending their lead to 14-0 after just 16 minutes.
However, the misery didn’t stop there for the Tigers. Each time they tried to work the ball out of their own end they produced an error, setting the Knights up with great field position. Off the back of one of these errors, the Knights spread the ball out wide through Kalyn Ponga, who setup Starford To’a to score in the corner. Despite being down 18-0, the Tigers continued to work their way down the field in the hopes of getting their first points. With time winding down in the first half, Benji Marshall grubbered a kick towards the in-goal, which was toed ahead by Luciano Leilua. Leilua won the race to the ball and scored the opening points for the Tigers.
Despite this try, the Knights got a penalty to help them get one last shot at the Tigers before the break. They made the most of this opportunity when Jacob Saifiti crashed through several Tigers defenders to score, sending the Knights into the break with a commanding 24-4 lead.
2nd Half
The half time break did nothing for the Tigers mentality as the Knights continued right where they left off. Herman Ese’ese barged his way through several soft efforts from the Tigers to score the opening try of the second half. Not long after this, Kalyn Ponga had his second try of the night when he brushed through a flimsy tackle from Benji Marshall. He converted his own try to extend the Knights lead to 34-4.
The Tigers tried to get back in the game, but their lack of discipline and execution in attack prevented them from putting any real pressure on the Knights. Conversely, whenever the Knights got close to the line they found a way through the Tigers. Kalyn Ponga was involved again, passing to Gehemat Shibasaki who burrowed his way under the attempted tackles to score.
The Knights put the final nail in the Tigers coffin when young Pheonix Crossland was the beneficiary of a friendly bounce off an attacking bomb. He scooped up the loose ball to dive over untouched under the posts, extending the lead to 44-4. Luckily for the Tigers, the full time siren sounded before the Knights could score again, ending the 40 point onslaught and putting the Tigers out of their misery.
GAME HIGHLIGHT
The Knights debut of Blake Green was the highlight of the game. He had a hand in most of the tries scored by the home side early on. It was a remarkable performance considering he transferred from the Warriors less than a week ago. His combinations with Kalyn Ponga and Mitchell Pearce were crisp and fluid, making it look like they had played with each other for years. Green’s presence on the field took all the pressure off Pearce to organise the team. Ponga also benefited from the addition of Green, back to his freakish best scoring two tries and getting a further two try assists. How the Knights continue to perform with Green in the side will be intriguing to watch as they push to solidify their position in the top eight.
SQUADS
Knights: 1. Kalyn Ponga 2. Starford To’a 3. Enari Tuala 4. Gehamat Shibasaki 5. Hymel Hunt 6. Blake Green 7. Mitchell Pearce 8. David Klemmer 9. Kurt Mann 10. Jacob Saifiti 11. Lachlan Fitzgibbon 12. Aidan Guerra 13. Mitchell Barnett Bench: 14. Phoenix Crossland 15. Josh King 16. Herman Ese’ese 17. Brodie Jones
Tigers: 1. Adam Doueihi 2. David Nofoaluma 3. Joseph Leilua 4. Tommy Talau 5. Asu Kepaoa 6. Luke Brooks 7. Benji Marshall 8. Josh Aloiai 9. Moses Mbye 10. Russell Packer 11. Luciano Leilua 16. Chris Lawrence 13. Matt Eisenhuth Bench: 12. Sam McIntyre 14. Thomas Mikaele 15. Shawn Blore 17. Billy Walters
