Seventh heaven in front of a packed home crowd as Knights down Bunnies

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Newcastle Knights v South Sydney Rabbitohs

The Newcastle Knights put on a clinic on Sunday, running riot over the South Sydney Rabbitohs 29-10 in front of a sell-out crowd at McDonald Jones Stadium.

The Knights were led by Kalyn Ponga, who laid on a scintillating performance, delivering winger Greg Marzhew a first half hat trick.

Newcastle's attack was in full swing from the outset, scoring two tries in the first 10 minutes. Marzhew opened the scoring in the fourth minute, before Ponga set him up again shortly after. Ponga was unable to add to either try with the boot, an 8-0 lead early.

The Rabbitohs were unable to get their hands on the ball, and the Knights continued to pile on the pressure. Marzhew completed the treble three minutes before the break and the hosts led 12-0 at halftime with Ponga 0/3 on conversions.

Souths did come out firing in the second half, Damien Cook scoring off a scrum base play to bridge the gap to eight points (Latrell Mitchell missed the conversion from next to the posts in a bizarre moment).

Daniel Saifiti got Newcastle's second half surge kick started in the 56th minute with a quality try before Adam Clune scored just  two minutes later. Ahead 22-4, the game looked done and dusted.

With 15 minutes remaining, Shaq Mitchell crashed over to offer Bunnies fans hope, but Bradman Best countered off a Latrell Mitchell error a few minutes later and the 28-10 lead with just over ten remaining was indeed a bridge too far for the visitors.

Clune nailed a disrespectful field goal in the closing minutes to extend the margin to 19 points and send the bulk of the 29,018 in attendance home in raptures.

The win was the Knights' seventh in a row, and they are now entrenched in the NRL top eight. The Rabbitohs, meanwhile, have now lost two of their last three and are in danger of missing the eight. This was a statement victory for the Knights, who showed that they are a force to be reckoned with in 2023.