You have skipped the navigation, tab for page content
The unlikely hero and his miracle clutch play

It was a moment Jamie Buhrer and Shaun Kenny-Dowall will never forget.

The nib Newcastle Knights were down two-points with four minutes remaining when Mitchell Pearce left the field injured.

The needed a big play and someone to execute it.

Kalyn Ponga look to be the man when he made a break down the left-edge.

The pioneers of the Knights: Allan McMahon

But the exciting fullback was cut down five-metres from the line.

The referee’s hand was raised above his head to signal the last play and experience forward Jamie Buhrer found himself standing at first receiver.

From the corner of his eye he could see veteran winger Shaun Kenny-Dowall with his hand raised.

It was all or nothing.

Buhrer kicked the ball to his corner and it was pin-point.

Kenny-Dowall jumped over his opposite number and scored the winning try with seconds remaining.

Knights won 22-20.

The great win was later overshadowed by the news that Knights captain Pearce would miss 10-weeks due to a pectoral injury.

The Knights went on to lose seven games without Pearce which put a dent in their finals aspirations.

Newcastle faced the Tigers again in Round 21.

Mann: We need to get that steely mentality back

Ponga added to his impressive 2018 highlight reel when he slipped through the Tigers defence to score an impressive try but the Tigers were too good.

A 25-16 loss spoiled Kenny-Dowall’s 250th NRL game and Herman Ese’ese’s 50th.

In 2019, the Knights will face the Tigers in Round 19 and Round 23.