Newcastle have secured their first NRLW minor premiership with a 28-8 win over the Wests Tigers but will now sweat on the health of Origin halfback Jesse Southwell for next weekend’s semi-finals.
Southwell suffered a knock to her leg in the opening 15 minutes and after trying to run off the injury, she left Leichhardt Oval nine minutes before halftime and didn’t return.
Knights staff said the 18-year-old had suffered bruising (cork) and it was merely a precaution to keep Southwell on the sidelines.
The Knights trailed 8-6 at halftime but piled on four unanswered tries in the second to put both hands firmly on the Minor Premiership.
They will keep a two premiership-points buffer between themselves and the Roosters even if the Tricolours beat the Cowboys on Saturday at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.
The match was only three tackles old when Tamika Upton picked up where she left off against the Roosters last weekend with another 55-metre bust up field.
Abigail Roache Try
It threatened to be a long night for the home side, but their goal-line defence for the next two sets stood strong.
It took 14 minutes but the Knights eventually broke through with winger Sheridan Gallagher accepting a Jesse Southwell cut-out pass.
But the Wests Tigers were quick to reply, when centre Rikeya Horne got on the outside of opposite number Abigail Roache and speed did the rest.
Rikeya Horne Try
Horne was in the thick of the action again 10 minutes later passing to her winger Rebecca Pollard but that was off the back of a 40-metre tackle-busting dash by Jakiya Whitfield.
The Wests Tigers were in front 8-6 for the first time in the match, even with stand-in fullback Pauline Piliae-Rasabale missing two conversions.
After the break, and with no Southwell, it wasn’t clear how the Knights would respond. But some nice footwork by Upton to put Abigail Roache through a small gap and into another runaway Knights try.
The visitors were back in the lead 12-8 and extended it in the 50th minute when Roache got her double via quick hands along the left edge.
The gap widened to 14 points when Yasmin Clydsdale scored (22-8) with just over 10 minutes left on the clock.
Then hooker Olivia Higgins scooted through from dummy-half to seal the deal.
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Match snapshot
- The Wests Tigers suffered another injury blow, when fullback Botille Vette-Welsh withdrew an hour before kick-off with a calf injury.
- Brett Kimmorley’s side was already without Origin stars Kezie Apps (foot) and Sarah Togatuki (leg).
- The Knights lost Jesse Southwell to a leg cork in the first half with the halfback leaving the field as a precaution.
- Wests Tigers winger Jakiya Whitfield had run 165 metres and made 11 tackle-busts by halftime. She racked up 207 running metres by the whistle.
- Wests Tigers sisters Emily and Sophie Curtain became the first pair of twins in NRLW history.
- Knights winger Sheridan Gallagher finished the game with a knee concern. Gallagher took over the goal-kicking from Southwell and kicked four conversions.
- Tamika Upton was given an early mark, coming off in the 67th minute.
Play of the game
A big game from Abigail Roache both in attack and defence proved the difference with the Kiwi Ferns representative pulling off an intercept in the second half with the Wests Tigers on the attack that then allowed the Knights to march up field and cross for a try that put the game to bed.
Yasmin Clydsdale Try
What they said
"A marvellous achievement [to win the minor premiership], the first of its kind at Newcastle. We didn't speak about it this week but the playing group shouldn't let the magnitude of that be lost on them. We won't lose the bigger picture but it's a fantastic achievement. Our team is built on grit. Even though our attack wasn't as fluent tonight, our defensive grit got us home in the end." - Knights coach Ron Griffiths.
"They showed great character and have been amazing throughout the whole competition. They've been united and are a tough side. People had to change positions [this week] and they stepped up. Hopefully they're football lessons. We had football games we should've won this year. It's all new to us and hopefully we can learn." - Wests Tigers coach Brett Kimmorley.
NRLW Press Conference: Wests Tigers v Knights - Round 9, 2023
What's next
The Knights will host a home final next weekend at McDonald Jones Stadium with their opponent likely to be the Broncos but will be determined following Round 9. For Wests Tigers, they will contemplate their inaugural NRLW season, which could have ended differently since four of their seven losses were by six points or less.