Newcastle leaves it late to win in the west

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Dolphins v Newcastle Knights

Brodie Jones was the unlikeliest of match winners as the Newcastle Knights sealed a last minute 26-20 win over the Dolphins in Perth.

Sealing a memorable result after unsung forward Jones kept his arm elevated to prevent a double movement, the Knights reaped the rewards of opting for a bomb over a field goal to break the deadlock with less than a minute on the clock.

The Knights were well-served by a host of returning players, including Dominic Young, who delighted a hearty group of supporters among the 10,077 crowd with a try after securing a mid-season release from the Roosters earlier in the week.

Having defeated the Dolphins in their past four meetings, the Knights replicated that form with Fletcher Sharpe (4th minute) pouncing for first points after Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow failed to defuse a bomb close to his goal line.

The Dolphins struck back with a try of their own through Kodi Nikorima (11th minute), only for Kalyn Ponga to thread a grubber kick into the in-goal for Bradman Best (18th minute) to touch down in his return from injury.

A terrific run from James Schiller put the visitors in prime position to add a third four-pointer with mid-season recruit Young (24th minute) finishing off a right-side shift to score in his first appearance back in Newcastle colours. 

A suspected ACL injury to Jack Bostock forced a reshuffle for the Dolphins; interchange forward Connelly Lemuelu (32nd minute) made the most of his entrance into the game by charging into a gap created by Isaiya Katoa to reduce the margin to 16-10 at the change of ends.

With Dane Gagai sent to the sin bin for holding Herbie Farnworth off the ball in a try-scoring situation, the Dolphins managed to capitalise on their one-man advantage with Jamayne Isaako (54th minute) crossing out wide before Tabuai-Fidow (60th minute) finished off a break by Jake Averillo to take the lead.

The Knights refused to wilt - despite Sharpe failing a HIA - with Ponga combining once again with Best (63rd minute) to lock the scores up at 20-all following Dane Gagai's wayward conversion attempt.

Jayden Brailey appeared to be the hero only for the referee to deny the visitors one of the tries of the season, however the Knights got the bounce of the ball they were after when Tabuai-Fidow failed to hold onto Phoenix Crossland's bomb, allowing Best to find Jones (79th minute) in support for the match winner.

Next week, the Dolphins host the Rabbitohs at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night, while the Knights will return to McDonald Jones Stadium for a Friday night clash with the Raiders.