The Knights have continued their charge up the competition ladder with a 20-14 victory over the Wests Tigers on Saturday which marks three-straight wins for Adam O'Brien's men.
After struggling to break down a stubborn Wests Tigers line through an opening 40 minutes in which they controlled possession and completed 90 percent of their sets, it was powerhouse centre Bradman Best who changed the game with a series of big plays in the second period at Scully Park in Tamworth.
Best came to life after the break to terrorise the Wests Tigers' right side, making a long-range break in the lead up to David Armstrong's try just after half-time, before scoring one of his own to give his side a 10-point advantage with 15 to play, with his stats by full-time including 235 run metres and 11 tackle breaks.
Bradman Best Try
While the win inches the Knights closer to the top eight, it came at a cost with five-eighth Tyson Gamble picking up a potentially serious foot injury which saw him on crutches after being ruled out at half-time.
After Isaiah Papali'i opened the scoring a quarter of an hour into the match, things went south for the Wests Tigers and they spent much of the next 12 minutes camped on their own line.
Isaiah Papali'i 1st Try
It was at that stage that Armstrong made the most of an overlap while Wests Tigers fullback Jahream Bula was in the bin for a professional foul committed two minutes earlier, to send Greg Marzhew over directly off a scrum.
Despite the Knights' dominance in possession, the Wests Tigers looked like getting to the break still up 6-4 and even had a chance to extend their lead, but for the Bunker ruling Alex Twal had obstructed the defence before Api Koroisau burrowed over.
Instead, a heads up play from Dane Gagai, who poked a grubber out to the corner with the half-siren beckoning, sent Enari Tuala over and gave Newcastle a two-point advantage going into the sheds.
The Knights went 100 metres to score four minutes into the second period, with Armstrong finishing things off after Best broke free.
David Armstrong Try
A second try for Papali'i with 27 to play made it a one-score game again, but Best's blockbuster effort with 16 to go sucked the life out of Benji Marshall's side and gave Newcastle a 10-point buffer from which they were able to hold on for victory, despite a late Brent Naden try which set up a nervous final minute.
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Match Snapshot
- The Knights have now won three games on the trot as they continue to push on without injured captain Kalyn Ponga.
- Knights centre Bradman Best carried the ball for 235 metres, made three line breaks and had 11 tackle busts to go with his second-half try.
- The match saw each side have a player sin-binned, with Jahream Bula pinged for a professional foul in the first half and Daniel Saifiti finishing the game in the bin for a shoulder charge which also saw him placed on report.
- Wests Tigers forward Isaiah Papali'i was placed on report for tripping in the 21st minute, teammate Alex Seyfarth was then cited for a dangerous tackle on 68 minutes and Knights halfback Jackson Hastings was put on report for a high shot on the hour mark.
- Wests Tigers lost centre Starford To'a to a hamstring injury on 15 minutes, while forward John Bateman didn't play beyond half-time due to a pectoral problem.
- Newcastle playmaker Tyson Gamble suffered a potentially serious foot injury late in the first half and didn't return, while fullback David Armstrong underwent a HIA in the final 15 minutes.
- The Knights have now won their past five games against the Wests Tigers, while Benji Marshall's troops collapsed to their fourth loss in five games at Scully Park.
Play of the Game
With play having seemingly broken down on the opposite side of the field seconds earlier, Dane Gagai got the ball in a central position and crabbed his way to the right before spotting space behind the Wests Tigers line. From there Enari Tuala had too much space and crossed for a confidence-boosting try on the siren.
Enari Tuala Try
What They Said
"There will be some really good moments in our review, like Brodie Jones chasing down that line break on the Bradman Best's seven line breaks but there'll be some stuff that's quite painful to watch at times. Felt like we were a little bit impatient and probably lacked a little bit of respect for the opposition. I think we wanted a quick kill and that worked negatively in terms of what our attack looked like [in the first half] and once we settled in the second half we looked a lot better." - Knights coach Adam O'Brien
Knights: Round 10
"Lot of adversity today for us and I was really proud of our boys in terms of effort. The one thing that is non-negotiable in our team is effort and we're not lacking that in any of our games. What we are lacking is moments in games where we seem to put pressure on ourselves and instead of applying pressure to the other team we make it hard for ourselves. The game was there for us today to win it and we didn't." - Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall
Wests Tigers: Round 10
What's Next
The Knights are back in action next Saturday, taking on the Titans as the away team at Magic Round, while the Wests Tigers have an extra day of rest before facing the Dolphins in the final game of the round at Suncorp Stadium.