The nib Newcastle Knights have gone down 28-8 to the Sydney Roosters in a gruelling encounter in Round 19 at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
The Tri-colours proved too good scoring 28 unanswered points, including a second half shut-out after the Knights led early.
The result is the 11th loss of the season for the red and blue and leaves the team teetering on the edge of the top eight.
With a point to prove, the Knights showed an improved intensity from the opening whistle through their strong defence.
The sides were locked in a brutal grind in the opening 10 minutes, with attacking opportunities coming few and far between.
However on the 13th minute mark, the Knights stormed down the field and finished with Jacob Saifiti barging his way over to open the scoring.
Kalyn Ponga added the extras to secure an early lead for Newcastle.
Jacob Saifiti on the inside as a gaping hole appears
Running with the wind and riding high after the first try, the Knights were full of confidence and would almost grab a second through Hymel Hunt.
A jinking Connor Watson opened up some space on the right edge and Kurt Mann attempted to draw-and-pass to Ponga, however James Tedesco got a hand to the ball to save a try.
Hunt dived on the ball in the in-goal, but it was overturned by the bunker with Ponga ruled to have knocked-on in the lead-up.
Newcastle held onto the ball from the ensuing scrum-feed and were awarded a penalty in front of the posts, with the team opting to kick a penalty goal to make it 8-0.
Soon after, Matt Ikuvalu looked destined to score for the Tri-colours but a desperate Knights defence forced the error.
Roosters would force their way over on the 30th minute mark, with Tedesco hitting Sitili Tupouniua with a short-ball and the second-row forward made his way to the line to reduce the deficit.
The Roosters levelled the scores just before the half-time break with Joseph Manu strolling over after clever work by Drew Hutchinson on the last play.
Tedesco converted from the sideline to put the Roosters into the lead.
At the change of ends, Sydney would hold a two-point lead after a gruelling first half.
This time against the wind, the Knights weren't having as much joy making metres with their kicking game.
Scramble defence kept the Roosters at bay in the opening stages of the first half while both teams were going set-for-set with the wind proving difficult for the Knights to find field position.
The Roosters regained the ascendency when Daniel Tupou crossed for the Roosters third try in the 56th minute.
A short-side raid paid dividends for the Eastern Suburbs team as Tedesco summed up a three-on-two scenario finding Tupou on the wing.
The Roosters were playing the percentage-game with a 100% completion rate in the first 20 minutes of the second half.
They would extend their lead with Lachlan Lam scoring close to the corner.
Tedesco was hurting the Knights through the middle with his speed and almost produced another four-pointer for the Tri-colours.
The NSW fullback would have another try-assist soon after hitting a hard-running Tupounuia, and the forward would score his second of the night with 10 minutes to play.
Crichton added another for the Roosters with Tedesco setting up his third try of the night to seal the result.
The Knights will go back to the drawing board and prepare for a huge clash with the Canberra Raiders next round.
