Roache double guides Knights to win over Titans
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Newcastle have handed the Titans their first loss of the NRLW season with a scrappy 22-12 victory at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday.
The Knights controlled the game with 57 percent of possession but were kept scoreless for most of the second half until Tamika Upton turned on the afterburners late with a solo effort to seal victory for the premiers.
The Titans' woes with their completion rates last season came back to haunt them in a disappointing afternoon for the visitors with a 60 percent completion rate.
A double to Abigail Roache set up a 16-4 lead before the match got into a stalemate with errors from both sides in the second half.
The Knights crossed early with Upton and English recruit Georgia Roche combining to send Roache over for her first of the afternoon before Olivia Higgins made the Titans goal-line defence look ordinary to extend the lead to 10-0.
Abigail Roache try 34th minute
An error from Knights halfback Jesse Southwell enabled the Titans to strike and after Niall Williams-Guthrie threw a ball into touch only moments earlier the rugby sevens convert made no mistake a second time sending Emily Bass over.
A turning point in the match came in the second half when Shanice Parker was sin-binned for a lifting tackle on Sienna Lofipo - the Titans halfback using the gap left by Parker shortly after to cross the line.
The visitors continued to have all the field position while the Knights were a player down but costly errors when the game was on the line proved the difference for Karyn Murphy's side as Upton made them pay late.
Match: Knights v Titans
Round 4 -
home Team
Knights
2nd Position
away Team
Titans
4th Position
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Match snapshot
- Abigail Roache's double is the first of her NRLW career. The Kiwi Ferns centre has now scored four tries in four games since making her debut in Round 1.
- Knights co-captain Hannah Southwell was placed on report for an alleged crusher tackle on Steph Hancock in the 26th minute.
- Sienna Lofipo crossed for her first NRLW try in the second half after Shanice Parker was sin-binned moments earlier for a lifting tackle on the Titans halfback.
- Titans hooker Lauren Brown left the field in the final 15 minutes of the match for a head injury assessment and did not return.
- Knights prop Rima Butler was next to depart the paddock after copping a head knock in some friendly fire with Simone Karpani.
- The Titans lost Jaime Chapman late in an ugly head knock after she clashed with Tamika Upton before Rilee Jorgensen had a head injury assessment late.
Play of the game
The Titans got within reach of the Knights during the second half but once Tamika Upton got on the outside of Chantay Kiria-Ratu it was all over with the Knights fullback burning them all to seal the win.
Tamika Upton try 65th minute
What they said
"Our team and their defensive resolve was something we're all really proud of. I thought we switched off [after the sin-bin] but I thought we displayed some good efforts. To go in at half-time [after Roache's second try] I thought was a huge momentum swing in our favour. That allowed us to go through the period without Shanice." - Knights coach Ron Griffiths.
"We've worked hard in the last few weeks to get ourselves out of games but we spoke today that we can't keep giving away points and making errors. There's lessons out of that game. We started from behind again. We might've been 60 percent completions and that's going to be hard to win a footy game. There was an opportunity [in the sin-bin] and another lesson in how we can take advantage of those situations." - Titans coach Karyn Murphy.
NRLW Press Conference: Knights v Titans - Round 4, 2023
What's next
Both sides are in action next week on home turf in Round 5 with Newcastle returning to McDonald Jones Stadium for a juicy clash against the Broncos. The Titans will host the Roosters in a massive match-up between the top four clubs.
