FULL TIME! That'll be all. The Warriors win it. Match report to come
Jack Hetherington loses the ball for the Knights, and the Warriors will come away with the win!
UNSUCCESSFUL CHALLENGE! Knights scrum close to their own line
CAPTAINS CHALLENGE WARRIORS! Jackson Ford was ruled to have dropped it, but we'll see what the bunker has to say
Brailey loses it in the tackle, and all but wraps up this game. It's a Warriors scrumfeed with 3 left on the clock
PENALTY NEWCASTLE! Warriors were in front of the kicker
Miller goes for the short kick-off, but the Warriors have the ball
Johnson kicks it to make the gap eight points
TRY EGAN! Great footy from dummy-half! Off the back of a stoppage with nothing going, Egan takes advantage of a huge gap
The Warriors have their reward! It's a NZ play the ball 10 metres out from the Newcastle line off the back of an error
Try saving defence from the Warriors! Hymel Hunt looked certain to cross in the corner, but somehow NZ still have the lead
Shaun Johnson shanks it from inside his own 20, and now Newcastle have the ball from well inside the NZ half. Warriors back under pressure
Early kick, and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad cleans up perfectly for his side. Warriors hold on!
Warriors defence still holding firm. It's the third tackle
SIX AGAIN NEWCASTLE! So many six agains in this game!
SIX AGAIN NEWCASTLE! The Warriors are slow in the ruck
Phoenix Crossland is back on the field for Newcastle. It's 13 on 13
Ok, we're about to get back underway. Newcastle on the attack, but missing Kalyn Ponga
Kalyn Ponga is off for a HIA! This is a huge call in the context of the game
Lachlan Fitzgibbon looks to be in quite a bit of pain on the ground
That was a very chaotic phase - there are two players down for Newcastle! The call in the end is a knock-on by the Warriors, so Newcastle will have a scrum and another attacking set
NO TRY! Great try-saving tackle from Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad! It's a play the ball 10 metres out for the Knights
VIDEO REFEREE! Ponga with a brilliant solo effort, but it looks like he gets held up.
SIX AGAIN KNIGHTS! It's the Warriors who are offside this time
DROPOUT! Good pressure from Dominic Young at the end of the set forces the error from Marcelo Montoya, and the Knights will get an attacking set
The dropout has gone 65m on the bounce!
DROPOUT! Great set from the Knights, ending with a perfectly weighted grubber from Lachlan Miller which earns his team a repeat set
Hunt appeared to have dropped it in the tackle for the Knights, but the ruling is a knock-on Warriors. Knights scrumfeed just inside Warriors territory
Both teams have settled back down here, they're going set for set. Warriors still holding a narrow lead.
PENALTY KNIGHTS! GREAT DEFENSIVE STRETCH! Now they'll get a reward, starting the next set from their own 30m
Chris Sutton has had enough here. We look set to resume now. Warriors are 10 metres out with a set to use
Wayde Egan is still on the ground
Wayde Egan got slammed by Lachlan Miller, and the Warriors did not like it at all. Away from that, the Warriors still have another set to play with when play finally does resume
SIX AGAIN WARRIORS! AND IT IS ON! Everyone in, and someone is down in back-play. This is getting a little out of hand
CROSSLAND TO THE BIN! Another penalty - this one for not being square at marker and attempting to stop a try! Surely the Knights can't hold on here
Adam Elliott on report for his shot on Dylan Walker. Warriors still on the attack
PENALTY WARRIORS! A player taken out off the ball! Another set for the Warriors on the line
NO TRY WARRIORS! Johnson puts the kick through on the last, Hymel Hunt knocks the ball on into Adam Pompey trying to defuse it, and Pompey knocks it back on into Hunt. It'll be a Warriors scrumfeed in excellent field position
PENALTY WARRIORS! The Knights were offside from the scrum
JOHNSON! He almost goes all the way off the scrum
VIDEO REFEREE! The Warriors might have just scored, but Sutton has a no try on field
The Warriors are waltzing downfield off the back of points! They're at the Knights 20m!
Johnson misses the conversion and the gap remains at two points
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad scores for the Warriors against the run of play! Brayden Wiliame made the line break, and his fullback was backing up on the inside.
Hastings drops it at first receiver inside the Warriors 20 metres. NZ hang on, they have a scrum 10 metres out from their own line
PENALTY KNIGHTS! The Warriors were offside, and Hastings takes the quick tap. They're 20 metres out
Johnson puts it high from the Knights 40 metre line, and the Knights defuse it comfortably
Hastings boots it into the corner, but Montoya takes it well. Warriors working it off their line
Hastings gets it from the sideline to give his side the lead
Great hands, and Newcastle make use of their great field position. A good finish from Hunt on the left edge, and scores are level
SIX AGAIN! Another attacking set for Newcastle
The Knights are well on top field position wise early on, they're back on the attack
The Warriors hold strong following their first defensive test of the second half.
Johnson puts it high on the last and Kosi knocks it on trying to regather. Knights ball
We're back for the second half! Warriors with first use, and the four point lead
PENALTY KNIGHTS! Edward Kosi grabs the dropout before it goes 10m! That'll take us to the break
DROPOUT! The Warriors will have a set before half-time. Jackson Ford with a great run to get the field position
Edward Kosi with a spectacular take to win the ball back for his side. 90 seconds left in the half
SIX AGAIN KNIGHTS! The Warriors aren't onside
PENALTY KNIGHTS! They will want to apply some pressure before half-time
Wiliame loses the ball for the Warriors, and the Knights survive another raid.
SIX AGAIN WARRIORS! Ponga tries to intercept an offload, and now the Warriors have a full set starting from the Knight's 40
The Warriors have Newcastle pinned inside their own 10, both sides are beginning to tire with half-time approaching
Lachlan Miller picks up the Shaun Johnson grubber, and the Knights hold on this time
Video referee! Marata Niukore goes very close for the Warriors, but is held up by Ponga underneath!
SIX AGAIN! ANOTHER ONE! The Knights have given away a heap. Warriors on the attack again!
Johnson kicks his first on the game from straight in front
Bunty Afoa strolls through the middle to make the Knights pay for their costly error at the kick-off! The Warriors have the lead here in Wellington.
SIX AGAIN! The Knights are offside!
Johnson with an exciting run, and the Warriors are two metres out! Knights will be tested here
OUT ON THE FULL! Lachlan Miller puts the kick-off a metre over the sideline, and now the Warriors have it from the halfway
Johnson misses from the right sideline - the gap remains two points
Mitchell Barnett goes for a forty metre line break, before some great hands on the right edge gets the Warriors on the board!
Dom Young is back up and playing; seemingly 100% fine
Miller defuses the Shaun Johnson kick, and Newcastle now working it out of their own half
Ponga puts it down while taking the Warriors line on, and the Warriors are now working it up-field
Newcastle with some field position to play with now, but Dom Young is down injured in backplay
20m TAP NEWCASTLE! Johnson puts the ball up from 20 metres out, and Dom Young takes a pressure catch in the in-goal area
Both teams just driving it up the field and putting in deep kicks at the moment. Pretty even going
Kurt Mann has shifted into the second row for Newcastle
Tyson Frizell has failed his HIA
20m TAP NEWCASTLE! The breeze carries Shaun Johnson's kick dead
Jacob Saifiti drops it cold in the tackle, and the Warriors survive
Brilliant work from Jackson Hastings, he puts through a chip on the third and forces a goalline dropout. Knights will get an attacking set
PENALTY KNIGHTS! There's a strip, Sutton rules. Newcastle with the ball on the halfway
Shaun Johnson with a deep kick on the last is defused well by Lachlan Miller. The game is settling down a little, finding its rhythm
Tyson Frizell is down and will go off for a HIA
Best coughs it up on the last for Newcastle after a late shift of play. The Warriors with a mid-field scrum 10 metres out from their own line
PENALTY KNIGHTS! Now it's the Warriors who are offside. A lot of penalties early on here in Wellington
There was space on the left wing for the Warriors, but the ball ends up over the sideline. Knights ball
PENALTY WARRIORS! Another inside the 10 metres from the Knights! That's four now. The Warriors winning the territory battle at the moment, they'll start their next set just inside the Knight's half
Newcastle's defence holds firm, but the Warriors didn't throw much at them. The Knights have the ball back
PENALTY! Ponga got up off the line looking to put a hit on, but he was well offside. Another attacking set on the line for the Warriors
PENALTY! Another one offside from Newcastle, but an error in the play-the-ball led to a penalty being called. The Warriors are well into attacking territory to start this set
SIX AGAIN WARRIORS! The Knights were inside the 10, and NZ start their set from halfway
Hastings finishes the set off, and Warriors finally have the ball from their own 30 metre line
Hastings slots it from next to the posts
TRY TIME! Too easy for Newcastle, and they have their opening points of 2023. The Warriors are yet to have possession of the ball!
The kick from Ponga goes up and there is an immediate mistake from Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad! The Knights have the first attacking set of the night
Chris Sutton in the middle gets us underway, and it's the Newcastle Knights with the first use of the ball
We aren’t far away from kick-off here on a very windy Wellington evening, with the Warriors hosting the Knights to start their respective seasons. A lot of interesting things to keep an eye on in this game - Newcastle’s new look spine, Warriors in front of a home crowd with a new coach, and the return of Nicoll-Klokstad to NRL footy. Strap yourselves in for game 2 of NRL 2023!
Referees & scorers:
Referee: Chris Sutton
Touch Judges: Liam Kennedy, Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski
Video Referee: Ben Cummins
WARRIORS (20)
Tries: Edward Kosi, Bunty Afoa, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Wayde Egan
Conversions: Shaun Johnson (2/4)
NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS (12)
Tries: Lachlan Fitzgibbon, Hymel Hunt
Conversions: Jackson Hastings (2/2)