Newcastle has kept their faint finals hopes alive after they defeated the Wests Tigers by 34-18 at McDonald Jones Stadium tonight.
In his 100th game for the club, Knights skipper Kalyn Ponga was the star for the home side scoring a try and having a hand in three others in a superb performance. The only downside to Ponga's performance was his goalkicking which flattered the scoreline for the Tigers managing only to convert three out of his sides seven tries.
For Wests it was another worrying defensive performance from Tim Sheen's men, where they let in four first half tries to give the Knights too big a head start to ever seriously look like running them down. The shining light for the home side was fullback Jahreem Bula who again put together another eye-catching display in his rookie season.
Newcastle came into the match red hot favourites following their recent demolition of the Bulldogs and it looked like the Tigers were headed for the same fate when Kalyn Ponga was involved in both opening tries within the first seven minutes.
The first was through a superb cut out ball for his winger Greg Marzhew who strolled over down the left-hand side. This was followed by Blues hero Bradman Best, who cantered over the line untouched just minutes later for an 8-0 lead.
Newcastle then went to the other side of the field, which saw Dominic Young race over in the corner for Newcastle's third try. This was then followed up by a try to Daniel Saifiti who crashed over close to the line for the Knights fourth and Ponga finally nailed a conversion to make it 18-0 to the home side.
Then just as the flood gates looked to be wide open, Wests managed to finally get some good field possession and they made it count through rookie sensation Jahreem Bula who dived over out wide to get his side back it the match.
Then just before halftime, Tigers halfback Brandon Wakeham produced a desperate grubber on the last, which took a wicked bounce on Knights fullback Ponga. Apisai Koroisau then charged through to get the ball down first and slash the Knights lead to 18-12 at halftime following Wakeham's conversion.
The second half started in dramatic fashion when Knights firebrand Jack Hetherington was sent to the Sin Bin for a slap ironically on Tigers half Will Smith. This didn't hold back the Knights however, when Ponga managed to step his way through the Tigers defence to score the first try of the second half.
The Tigers then returned serve when backrower Isaiah Papali'i made a bust through the middle and found Bula in support who raced away to score his second try and narrow the home sides lead to 22-18.
The game then slipped away after Newcastle took back momentum off the back of another costly Tigers error which saw Dom Young race over for his second try. Young was again involved in the match sealer, when the England winger burst down the sideline and found Tyson Gamble in support and secure a valuable win for Newcastle.
The Knights return to Newcastle next week, where they face Melbourne next Saturday, while the Tigers travel to Wollongong for a clash with fellow cellar dwellers St George on Thursday night.