Broncos buck Half Time deficit to beat Newcastle

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Newcastle Knights v Brisbane Broncos

A halftime lead yet again has meant nothing for the Newcastle Knights after a 34-28 defeat at the hands of the Brisbane Broncos at McDonald Jones Stadium.

The opening quarter of the match was absolutely even with both sides asking questions of the others middle defenders in the middle of the park but although there was plenty of danger from the Knights they weren't able to put the pressure onto the Broncos line. The Broncos were managing to put the pressure on the Knights line but they couldn't crack points until the 25th minute. The Knights goal-line defence stuck solid but it was off the boot of Ben Hunt that the points came for the Broncos when Jordan Kahu outjumped the Knights defenders who stood still and let the Broncos winger score the opener.

The rebound was pretty swift for the home side with two tries back to back inside the final ten minutes, the first for Sione Mata'utia when a good piece of play from the Knights saw Hodkinson set Mata'utia through a gap untouched. The Knights then took the lead with a great run through Danny Levi who was at the end of an end to effort from the Knights off the kick off and after the bunker approval it took the Knights a 12-6 lead at the break.

Things went downhill fast for the Knights with a try inside the first 65 seconds when Joe Wardle got the ball and kicked it straight into James Roberts who picked it up and raced 70m downfield to score untouched. The Broncos then added another two tries inside the opening 10 minutes of the second half and they were two very soft tries indeed. The second try came when a burst from Tautau Moga down the sideline before an awkward  hold and pass from Sam Thaiday out to the outside and Moga finished it off. Anthony Milford then went through untouched when Moga found the Broncos five-eighth to score under the posts.

The Knights hit back reletively quickly when in their next set Chanel Mata'utia flew over a group of Broncos players who stood and watched the high kick from Brock Lamb and the Knights managed to close the gap to a converted try. The Knights then pestered the Broncos with some good attack but  simple errors at inopportune times meant the play wasn't capitalised on by the Knights.

The Broncos finished the night with tries in the 69th and 78th minutes, the first of which came to Korbin Sims who beat three defenders to score and in doing so upset the Knights fans. A Knights effort almost came off in between but the result was confirmed when Jonus Pearson scored.

Next week the Broncos have a clash against the Bulldogs at Suncorp on Thursday meanwhile the Knights have a tough trip to Allianz Stadium where they face the Roosters