Knights go four-in-a-row to leave Raiders floundering

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Canberra Raiders v Newcastle Knights

A controlled display has seen the Newcastle Knights post their fourth win in succession with a 28-6 rout over the Canberra Raiders at GIO Stadium.

Recording their first victory in the nation's capital in five years to move within one point of the top eight, the Knights stood tall with and without the ball in a performance that saw Kalyn Ponga enhance his reputation as one of the superstars of the game.

Coming out of the blocks with attacking intentions after a superb kick return from Ponga inside the opening two minutes, the Knights struck first with Jackson Hastings sending Lachlan Fitzgibbon into space, who linked with Ponga (6th minute) in support to open the scoring.

Adding a penalty goal from in front after Jordan Rapana failed to complete a line drop out inside the designated kick clock, the Raiders woes went from bad to worse when Josh Papalii threw a woeful pass on the last tackle that put the Knights on the attacking front foot.

Taking immediate advantage of the field position gifted by their opponents, a cut-out pass from Hastings allowed Greg Marzhew (19th minute) to stroll over in the corner. 

Managing to repel multiple attacking raids from the Raiders on their own line, the Knights completed a stellar first half with Dominic Young (32nd minute) managing to get the ball down inside the corner post for his 20th try of the season to take a 20-0 lead to the sheds.

Making the Raiders pay for another poor last tackle option which saw interchange prop Emre Guler hoist a bomb toward the heavens, a subsequent raid down the right side from Dane Gagai saw Tyson Gamble (42nd minute) race away to score.

The Knights appeared to go further in front through Bradman Best following a comedy of errors from the Raiders, only for the bunker to find an infringement against Gamble for tackling Albert Hopoate in the air.

Stemming the one-way flow of points through Rapana (51st minute) midway through the second half, Canberra fullback Seb Kris was placed on report minutes later for taking out Ponga's legs while the Newcastle fullback contested a high ball.

Taking the score out to 28-6 via a penalty goal, Ponga was forced from the field for a HIA after collecting Rapana's knee while falling after passing the ball, before being cleared to return with the result beyond doubt.

A well-placed chip kick from Hastings saw Young touch down late in the contest, however closer inspection from the bunker found the English winger to have put a foot on the sideline before grounding.

Capping the win with one of their best defensive displays of the season, the Knights managed to deny Hudson Young and Corey Horsburgh with resolute goal line defence in the shadows of fulltime to run out 28-6 winners.

Next week, the Raiders host the Tigers on Sunday afternoon, while the Knights will face the Dolphins as part of a double header in Perth on Saturday evening.