One of the most memorable encounters between the Newcastle Knights and the Sydney City Roosters was on a Good Friday in Round 4 1997, played at Sydney Football Stadium.
Classic Clashes: Round 14
The sides were equal front runners, but it was the Roosters who looked to be the favourites that day, with Adrian Lam back in the side and the Knights without some influential players in Paul 'Chief' Harragon and Andrew Johns.
It was a rousing reception that night with a 17,000 plus crowd making plenty of noise, topped off with a sky filled with fireworks.
The Roosters opened the scoring early with a penalty kick from Ivan Cleary, but it was the Knights who hit the front in the 15th minute thanks to a mistake from the opposition.
Adam McDougall pounced on a dropped pass and ran near 40 metres down the sideline before he dished off to Owen Craigie, who under pressure, quickly off-loaded over the shoulder to Leo Dynevor to make it 4-2 to the Knights.
The red and blue struck again five minutes later, and it was in great fashion as Brett Grogan side stepped his way through the defensive pack to add another try to the Knights tally.
But it wasn't long until the Roosters staged their retaliation with their first try.
Matt Sing intercepted a pass to leg it down field but with plenty of Knights hot on his tail, he was stopped short of the try line.
The defensive effort was in vein as Roosters winger Jack Elsegood barged his way through a wall of defenders from dummy-half to make it a two-point ball game.
Following a moment of scrappy play from the Knights, out of dummy half, Lee Jackson cleaned it up and faked a pass before he sprinted over in the 28th minute.
Just before halftime the Knights fired again off a chip and chase from Owen Craigie.
At full pace, he looped the ball over the top to Dynevor and then Jason Moodie who made it 20-6 into the break.
Five minutes following the starting whistle of the second half, the Roosters had some luck fall their way with a high kick going in the favour of Darren Junee, who gathered the stray ball to slam it down. The Roosters trailed 22-10 after 45 minutes.
In the 61st minute, some brilliance and speed from Matthew Johns, who broke through open space, before he dished it off to Adam Muir who was pulled down 10 metres from the line.
With the Knights queuing up on the left, Dynevor took the ball to catch a bunch of Roosters off guard and stroll it across the line to make it 26-12. That outstanding piece of play all done while the Knights were down a man after Wayne Richards was sin binned.
Andrew Walker was the last to have a say for the match and for the Roosters as he went over but it was too late with the Knights well and truly victors, a comfortable 28-16 win to add to the record books.
