The NYC Newcastle Knights beat the Gold Coast Titans 34-18 at Cbus Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
In what panned out as an entertaining 80 minutes of football, halfback Jack Cogger starred with his general attacking play and long-range solo try.
Matt Soper-Lawler also shone on the wing with three tries, while debutant Kainoa Gudgeon grabbed two four-pointers on the opposite flank.
It only took the young Knights three minutes to open their account for 2016, Soper-Lawler crossing over in the corner. James McNamara converted, but seven minutes later the home side hit back when Ngangarra Barker collected a neat grubber next to the posts.
Some clever build-up play from Jack Cogger saw the Knights score again soon after, Kainoa Gudgeon touching down near the sideline.
Soper-Lawler grabbed his second in the 22nd minute with Cogger pulling the strings again, his crafty chip finding the winger in the corner.
Three minutes before half-time Gudgeon picked up his second try as well, and McNamara converted to make the score 22-6.
The Knights continued their dominance early in the second half when Soper-Lawler completed his hattrick, and three minutes later Cogger came up with a solo effort to run 25 metres and score.
McNamara converted on both counts but the Titans had the final say in the match, grabbing two late tries via Jed Cartwright.
Knights 34 (T: Soper-Lawler 3, Gudgeon 2, Cogger, G: McNamara 5/6) Titans 18
