Full Time
80:00
2:00pm Sun May 5, 2019
Round 8 - Go Media Stadium, Penrose / Aotearoa - Crowd: 14975
79min

Penalty Goal: Knights
Kicked by Kalyn Ponga.

Ponga kicks his 8th goal for the day.

Knights lead Warriors 18 - 36 Knights
79min

From the resulting dropout, the Warriors kick out on the full. Penalty to the Knights straight in front.

78min

Pearce kicks into the in goal, and RTS places a hand on it to save his side another try.

76min

Conversion: Knights
Kicked by Kalyn Ponga.

Ponga converts his own try.

Knights lead Warriors 18 - 34 Knights
75min

Try: Knights
Scored by Kalyn Ponga. Kick to come.

Ponga comes in front that time. Pearce sums up the play around the ruck, turns it inside for Ponga, who then burns RTS to score under the posts.

Knights lead Warriors 18 - 32 Knights
70min

Ponga kicks the ball out over the sideline now. Game management in full effect.

69min

Conversion: Knights
Attempted by Kalyn Ponga.

Ponga hits the upright, but the ball bounces off away from the goal.

Knights lead Warriors 18 - 28 Knights
68min

Try: Knights
Scored by Kalyn Ponga. Kick to come.

Edrick Lee leaps high on the last, dragging in a brilliant kick from Pearce. He throws it back to Hymel Hunt, and that's the easiest try Hunt will ever see. Great play from the Knights left outside men.

Knights lead Warriors 18 - 28 Knights
68min

Two sets later Ponga puts Barnett into another hole, but the defense is up to the task this time.

67min

Ponga puts Barnett into a yawning gap, but Barnett just drops it cold. Massive error from the Knights.

66min

The Knights' right edge defence is looking a little fragile at the moment.

66min

Tohu Harris flicks the ball out the back, but Shaun Kenny-Dowall dives on the loose ball.

65min

And now Hiku breaks a couple of tackles and makes a line break. On the last Green tries to kick over Ponga, but he takes the ball on his own tryline.

64min

A nice offload from Peta Hiku, and the Warriors pick up an extra ten metres.

63min

Good play from Mitchell Pearce there, taking RTS in a ball-and-all tackle on the last.

60min

The Knights discipline late in sets is costing them at the moment. The Warriors get another penalty, and start a set from within the Knights half.

58min

A good set after points, making it back to the Warriors 30 on the last. Pearce drills the ball over the sideline.

57min

Conversion: Knights
Kicked by Kalyn Ponga.

Ponga kicks the conversion, and the Knights are back in front.

Knights lead Warriors 18 - 24 Knights
56min

Try: Knights
Scored by Sione Mata'utia. Kick to come.

Some terrible defense from the Warriors there. Herman Ese'ese wanders across field looking for a gap, before turning the ball in to Sione Mata'utia, who breaks a couple of feeble tackles and crosses for a try.

Knights lead Warriors 18 - 22 Knights
55min

A good chase on the kick from Edrick Lee, and the ball goes to ground. The Knights dive on it and it's a fresh set of six deep in the Warriors' danger zone.

54min

Watson with a half break now.

54min

Great play from Barnett, getting on a loose ball and changing momentum for his team.

54min

A massive kick-off return from Agnatius Paasi.

53min

Conversion: Warriors
Kicked by Chanel Harris-tavita.

Off the post, but it's a successful conversion attempt. We're all locked up at 18 all.

Tied up at Warriors 18 - 18 Knights
52min

Try: Warriors
Scored by Ken Maumalo. Kick to come.

It's a try. The Warriors have the opportunity to tie the game up with this conversion attempt.

Knights lead Warriors 16 - 18 Knights
51min

We're going to the video ref for a possible try to Ken Maumalo. It looked good, but we're just checking on the grounding.

50min

The Warriors receive and penalty, and pick up an extra 30 metres.

49min

Ponga knocks on, and the Warriors get let off the hook.

47min

Great completion rate from the Knights, 19/20.

46min

Penalty Goal: Knights
Kicked by Kalyn Ponga.

On the next tackle, Blair is ruled to be laying around in the ruck, and the Knights take the penalty goal on offer.

Knights lead Warriors 12 - 18 Knights
44min

Some silliness in the ruck there from Gavet this time, attempting to milk the penalty, and then walking off the mark. Destroyed a bit of momentum for his team.

43min

A much better option from Ponga this set, dribbling the ball in behind the line and forcing a repeat set.

42min

The Warriors kick high on the last, and the ball is allowed to bounce. Gavet (yep, Gavet) leaps high, and takes the ball on the bounce for the Knights.

41min

Ponga tries to work his way down the left sideline, but the defence holds him up and sends him out over the sideline. Poor decision there from Ponga.

40min

Herbert gets us back underway in the second half, and Gavey crashes the ball forward.

40min

Pearce chips over the line in the dying seconds of the half, and the Knights will go to the break leading 16-12.

39min

Hiku makes a line break on the last, but Connor Watson manages to drag him down in a desperation tackle.

39min

Pearce rolls the ball over the sideline on the last, and winds the clock down a bit leading in to half time.

38min

Some big tackles from the Warriors at the moment, but the Knights are still making solid metres.

36min

Ponga and RTS both head for the ball at the same time, clash mid air, but RTS comes down with the ball.

35min

Conversion: Warriors
Kicked by Chanel Harris-tavita.

And Harris-Tavita makes the conversion look effortless from the left sideline.

Knights lead Warriors 12 - 16 Knights
34min

Try: Warriors
Scored by Ken Maumalo. Kick to come.

Hiku bats the ball backwards from the kick, and the Warriors spread the ball to the left edge for Ken Maumalo to score.

Knights lead Warriors 10 - 16 Knights
32min

Another Warriors pass goes to ground, but luckily it's backwards. We're going to the video for a possible try in the left corner.

29min

Penalty Goal: Knights
Kicked by Kalyn Ponga.

Ponga kicks the penalty goal.

Knights lead Warriors 6 - 16 Knights
28min

And another, this time for offside. The Knights will opt for a penalty goal.

28min

And now a penalty against Adam Blair for a dangerous tackle.

27min

The Warriors throw a poor pass, but then the Knights counter-attack down the right edge. It's only a cover tackle from RTS that manages to save the day.

26min

Watson heads down the right edge for the Knights, but gets absolutely smashed by Ken Maumalo. On the last, the kick is deflected, and Ponga is forced to put a second kick in from deep in his own half.

24min

Green kicks high on the last, but there was no chase and Edrick Lee doesn't even need to move to take it easily.

23min

For the Knights, Herman Ese'ese and James Gavet are both now on the field.

23min

The Warriors work their left edge on the last, but a great ball-and-all tackle stops them in their tracks.

22min

Some great defence from the Knights here though. Strong tackles, fast line speed, but then Klemmer gets penalised on the 4th - which gifts the Warriors field position.

20min

Ponga looks for touch on the Knights' first set after points, but can't quite find the sideline.

20min

Conversion: Knights
Kicked by Kalyn Ponga.

Ponga converts.

Knights lead Warriors 6 - 14 Knights
19min

Try: Knights
Scored by Shaun Kenny-Dowall. Kick to come.

It's a try! Kenny-Dowall takes the high ball cleanly (albeit not attractively), and comes down for a try.

Knights lead Warriors 6 - 12 Knights
19min

On the last, Pearce kicks high and SKD comes down with the ball. We're just checking on a potential knock on as he leaped to bring down the ball.

18min

The Warriors kick high on the last, but Hymel Hunt is up to the task.

18min

Gerard Beale heads for the right corner, but the Knights scramble to take him down. Now they spread it out to the left, but the ball goes to ground and buys the Knights defense a few precious seconds.

16min

The Warriors kick into the in goal at the other end of the field, and Ponga is trapped, forcing a dropout.

15min

The Knights making good metres this set, getting themselves deep into the Warriors half on the last. Pearce's kick just dribbles over the dead ball line.

14min

A forward pass to Herbert lets the Knights off the hook.

13min

Agnatius Paasi runs the ball back strongly from the kickoff, and then manages an offload to pick up a few extra metres.

12min

Conversion: Warriors
Kicked by Chanel Harris-tavita.

Harris-Tavita lines up for the conversion attempt from well out to the right, and he bends it straight back between the posts.

Knights lead Warriors 6 - 8 Knights
11min

Try: Warriors
Scored by Patrick Herbert. Kick to come.

And now the Warriors hit back with a try of their own, after some lovely gap running from Patrick Herbert.

Knights lead Warriors 4 - 8 Knights
9min

A penalty to the Warriors now, with Ponga placed on report for an attempted trip. Looked pretty tame, but we'll see.

8min

Conversion: Knights
Kicked by Kalyn Ponga.

Ponga converts the try, and the Knights are out to an early 8-0 lead.

Knights lead Warriors 0 - 8 Knights
5min

Try: Knights
Scored by Mitchell Pearce. Kick to come.

And now Pearce has extended his side's lead, throwing a dummy and easily breaking the Warriors' line. He's picked up exactly where he left off last week, and it's promising signs for the Knights.

Knights lead Warriors 0 - 6 Knights
3min

In their first set after points, Lachlan Burr is penalised and put on report for a dangerous tackle.

3min

Penalty Goal: Knights
Kicked by Kalyn Ponga.

And already the Knights have opened their account for the afternoon, with Ponga taking full advantage of a penalty in front of the Warriors' posts.

Knights lead Warriors 0 - 2 Knights

We're underway - the Warriors with first use of the football.

A daunting task for the Knights this afternoon, taking on the Warriors at home. The battle between the fullbacks should be one to watch - with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck up against Kalyn Ponga. Kick off soon.

Referees & scorers:

Referee: Chris Sutton, Phil Henderson

Touch Judges: Belinda Sleeman, Chris McMillan

Video Referee: Jared Maxwell, Bryan Norrie

WARRIORS (18)
Tries: Patrick Herbert, Ken Maumalo (2)
Field Goals:
Conversions: Chanel Harris-tavita (3/3)
Penalty Goals:

NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS (36)
Tries: Kalyn Ponga, Hymel Hunt, Mitchell Pearce, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Sione Mata'utia
Field Goals:
Conversions: Kalyn Ponga (4/5)
Penalty Goals: Kalyn Ponga (4/4)