NRL.com Wrap: Knights outlast Tigers with late winner

 

Knights v Wests Tigers

Press conferences

Weapons on the wing: Dom Young (195 run metres, 6 tackle breaks) and Greg Marzhew (22 runs for 222 metres, 9 tackle breaks) were immense for the Knights. Bringing the ball out of their own all day long, the two wingers got the Knights' sets off to a great start. Young's long run out of his own goal line in the dying stages set up the match-winning try for Bradman Best.

Full-time: The Knights have win No.10 of the season in a dour contest that included a total of 27 errors and a completion rate of just 69 per cent by the home side.

74 min: The Knights go 105 metres to snatch the lead after Jahream Bula contests a bomb but loses it forward and the ball spills into the in-goal where Bradman Best sends a pass to Dom Young who beats three defenders and gets into Tigers territory where he sends the ball back inside to Best who races away to score. Kalyn Ponga converts. Knights 12-6

73 min: Kalyn Ponga takes the ball to the line and looks to offload to Dylan Lucas but the back-rower can't hang on. 

70 min: Sunia Turuva leaves the field for a HIA after being caught high by Jacob Saifiti. The Tigers did not receive a penalty but still lost Turuva for the rest of the game.

68 min: Api Koroisau grubbers from 10m out and Dylan Lucas cleans it up.

66 min: Terrell May puts the ball down in a Jacob Saifiti tackle. The Tigers throw in a challenge and replays show Saifiti had made high contact with May. Penalty Tigers.

63 min: Trey Mooney's high shot on Jahream Bula invites the Tigers into good field position.

61 min: The Tigers keep the ball alive with a string of passes but the final pass goes astray and Kalyn Ponga cleans it up.

59 min: The Knights turn the ball over 10 metres out from the Tigers line and Heamasi Makasini swoops on the loose ball and races 75 metres before Kalyn Ponga tracks him down with a great chase.

54 min: Kalyn Ponga turns Dylan Lucas underneath him on the left edge and the NSW Blues back-rower powers 20 metres to score the Knights' first try. Ponga converts. 6-6

52 min: Alex Seyfarth can't play the ball properly and the Tigers turn over possession on halfway.

51 min: Dane Gagai gets into dummy half just short of the goal line and puts in a grubber which is far too hard and goes out.

48 min: Kalyn Ponga pushes a pass as he goes to ground, it ends up with Greg Marzhew and he is thrown over the sideline.

47 min: A high tackle penalty against Mavrik Geyer lets the Knights off the hook as they were struggling to get out of their own end.

45 min: Dylan Brown drifts to the right and throws a long ball that sails into touch as the Knights continue to struggle in attack.

44 min: Terrell May puts the ball down with the Tigers hard on attack.

43 min: Dom Young chases a high ball and is penalised for pushing Heamasi Makasini in the back as he tried to get to the contest.

A tale of two Mays: Terrible luck for Tigers centre Taylan May as he suffered a dislocated shoulder for the third time this season. Prop Terrell May was immense with 10 runs for 87 metres, five tackle breaks and 22 tackles as he powered through the first half without a break.

Half-time: The rain has started falling so testing conditions are guaranteed for the second half. With Adam Doueihi having a huge influence in his first game back from injury the Tigers take a slender lead to the break over a Knights team whose ball control has been poor.

40 min: Api Koroisau drops the ball at dummy half and the Tigers' last shot at points goes begging.

39 min: Jahream Bula flies high to contest a bomb and he forces an error from Kalyn Ponga as they both go for the catch. Tigers scrum.

37 min: On the back of another line break from Dom Young the Knights are into the red zone and pressing hard but Dylan Brown's grubber is way too hard and the Tigers have a seven-tackle set.

34 min: Sunia Turuva can't play the ball correctly and the fumble-athon continues in Newcastle.

33 min: This time it's Tyson Frizell coming up with an error for the home side.

31 min: Dane Gagai comes up with a dropped ball on the right edge as and that's seven errors for the Knights. Mavrik Geyer then returns the favour as the Tigers squander a chance to put on a second try.

30 min: Concerted pressure from the Tigers but Jeral Skelton is shut down on the last tackle and the Knights hold on.

27 min: Great reflexes from Api Koroisau to take a Dylan Brown grubber on the full and scoot away to get the Tigers out of trouble.

25 min: The Knights allow Jeral Skelton to catch a bomb and shut him down immediately.

23 min: Trey Mooney goes to the line and gets his arm free for an offload but it travels forward to Fletcher Sharpe and the opportunity is lost.

22 min: A mistake by Alex Seyfarth coming out of his own end has the Tigers under the pump.

17 min: Taylan May tries to tackle a hard-charging Jermaine McEwen but comes reeling out clutching his shoulder. May has had trouble all season with his shoulder and looks to be gone for the day. Heamasi Makasini comes on.

15 min: Sunia Turuva and Bradman Best compete for a bomb just short of the Tigers tryline. The referee rules a knock on by Turuva. The Tigers thrown in a successful captain's challenge and come out of the danger zone.

14 min: Api Koroisau kicks out of dummy half from inside his own 40 and the ball goes into touch just a metre away from the 20m line. Knights scrum.

11 min: Adam Doueihi comes up with two huge plays, first stripping the ball one-on-one from a runaway Dane Gagai before delivering a short ball for Tony Sukkar to carry a couple of defenders over the line for a Tigers try. Doueihi converts. Wests Tigers 6-0

9 min: Adam Doueihi tries to grubber but Fletcher Sharpe traps and scraps and defuses the situation for the Knights.

6 min: A loose pass by Fletcher Sharpe is knocked on by Bradman Best and the Tigers come out of trouble.

5 min: Phoenix Crossland launches a massive kick out of dummy half that travels 60 metres and rolls into touch for a 40-20. 

4 min: Adam Doueihi kicks for the corner and Jeral Skelton competes hard but the ball comes off the Tigers winger and into touch.

3 min: Api Koroisau grubbers into the in-goal, Alex Seyfarth chases, the Knights clean up for a line dropout. The Tigers reload.

1 min: An explosive start by the Knights as Dylan Brown and Kalyn Ponga handle before Dane Gagai puts Dom Young away down the wing. Young picks up Brown in support for a 'try' but the bunker rules it out as Jermaine McEwen is pinged for obstruction in the lead-up.

Late Mail

Knights: The Knights are 1-19 with no late changes. Origin duo Kalyn Ponga and Dylan Lucas are on track to return for the final game of Beanie for Brain Cancer Round, with Fletcher Sharpe shifting to five-eighth and Sandon Smith set to come off the bench. Edge forward Jermaine McEwen is also back on deck following a one-game suspension and comes straight back into the starting side. Coach Justin Holbrook said utility Fletcher Hunt would play NSW Cup in Tamworth on Friday night to get some game time and then return to Newcastle to take his place on the six-man bench on Sunday. James Schiller and Harrison Graham dropped out in the 24-hour update and Francis Manuleleua was the last man to drop out on game day.

Wests Tigers: Bunty Afoa starts the game and Fonua Pole goes to the bench ina late switch. Halfback Adam Doueihi itakes his place in the starting side after recovering from a shoulder injury but lock Alex Twal remains sidelined with a knee injury. Alex Seyfarth returns to the starting side at lock in No.16. Patrick Herbert has also been ruled out after dislocating his shoulder with Starford To'a shifting to centre and Jeral Skelton named on the wing. Faaletino Tavana has been added to the six-man bench 24 hours before kick-off.

Numbers Game

• The Knights have won four of their last five games at McDonald Jones Stadium.
• Wests Tigers have won their last two games against the Knights.
• Knights five-eighth Fletcher Sharpe has scored 16 tries in 16 games at McDonald Jones Stadium.
• Wests Tigers fullback Jahream Bula has scored six tries in five games against the Knights.
• Knights winger Dominic Young has scored eight tries in his last six games against Wests Tigers.

 

Raiders v Dragons at GIO Stadium

Press conferences

Error-riddled contest: The Raiders and Dragons have battled all season for continuity in attack and it showed as they failed to capitalise on countless opportunities inside the red zone and came up with a whopping 32 errors between them. Savelio Tamale was the worst offender for Canberra with four errors while Tyrell Sloan and Dylan Egan had three apiece for the Dragons.

Full-time: The Raiders have done enough to claim their sixth win of the season and will jump to 14th on the ladder while the Dragons remain six points behind the second-last team and on course for the first wooden spoon in joint venture history.

78 min: The Raiders are happy to take the tackle on the last play and turn the ball over two metres out from the Dragons line.

75 min: The Raiders make the Dragons pay straight from the scrum as Tyrell Sloan knocks down a pass and it falls to Tom Starling who darts over for the match-winner. Ethan Sanders converts. Raiders 24-16

75 min: Tyrell Sloan comes up with a cold drop off a bomb and the Raiders are hot on attack.

74 min: Seb Kris comes up with a great catch off a Dan Atkinson bomb.

71 min: Val Holmes slices the Raiders open from his own side of halfway and delivers the final pass for Tyrell Sloan to make it a double. Holmes adds the extras. Raiders 18-16

69 min: Hudson Young grubbers on the last play but Clint Gutherson cleans up easily as both sides continue to struggle inside the red zone.

66 min: Plenty of ball for the Dragons in close range but Dan Atkinson's grubber is easily cleaned up by Owen Pattie and the Raiders hold on.

61 min: Dan Atkinson slices a kick out on the full but the Raiders can't capitalise as Ata Mariota comes up with an error in contact.

56 min: Kyle Flanagan throws a long ball, it is touched by Simi Sasagi and falls to Xavier Savage who races away to make it a double. The touch from Sasagi appeared to travel forward to Savage but the bunker confirms the try which Ethan Sanders converts. Raiders 18-10

55 min: Kaeo Weekes throws a long ball on the right edge and it goes behind his teammates and rolls into touch for Canberra's 11th error of the day.

50 min: Owen Pattie grubbers into the in-goal and Dylan Egan gets back to knock it dead. The Dragons' dropout goes 65 metres.

48 min: Owen Pattie produces a superb 40-20 out of dummy half to put the Raiders in range again.

46 min: The Dragons go left on last play and Kyle Flanagan chooses to pass rather than kick. His pass to Val Holmes is an absolute shocker and Xavier Savage swoops on the loose ball and races 95 metres to score. Ethan Sanders converts. Raiders 12-10

44 min: Corey Horsburgh looks for a quick play-the-ball but comes up with an  error and the Dragons go on the attack.

42 min: Early pressure from the Raiders with a high ball to the corner but Xavier Savage can't control the catch and comes up with a knock on.

Twin turbos: Yet again it was Toby and Ryan Couchman showing the way for the Dragons with 17 runs and 169 metres between them. They also came up with a combined 50 tackles, while Toby's scramble denied Ethan Strange a try.

Sloan sizzles: One of only two Dragons to rack up more than 100 run metres in the first half, Tyrell Sloan showed all his trademark dash. The winger scooted 70 metres to score the game's opening try and was strong on kick return in an impressive opening half. 

Half-time: In search of just their second win of the season the Dragons take a 10-6 lead to the break. The Red V completed 19 of 21 sets at 90 per cent and came up with tries to Tyrell Sloan and Setu Tu to lead at half-time for just the fourth time this season.

40 min: Dan Atkinson goes to the air on the last but Hamish Stewart can't control the catch and the Raiders come away.

38 min: Owen Pattie comes up with a forward pass out of dummy half and the Dragons take over 40m out from the Canberra line.

37 min: The Raiders have a full set inside the red zone but come up empty after several one-out charges at the line from close range. 

31 min: Setu Tu chases hard on a high kick and takes the ball out of Savelio Tamale's hands and finds a way to ground the ball despite the efforts of three defenders to hold him up. Tamale is taken from the field by Ricky Stuart after a horror 30 minutes in which he made four errors and Seb Kris enters the game. Val Holmes fails to convert. Dragons 10-6

29 min: Dan Atkinson goes high, Savelio Tamale makes the catch and is forced back in-goal. The Raiders go long with the dropout.

27 min: Kyle Flanagan is caught on the last tackle without getting a kick in and the opportunity is squandered.

26 min: More drama for Savelio Tamale as he spills a bomb just 10 metres out from his own line. Dragons scrum.

24 min: Savelio Tamale is bundled into touch by Setu Tu and Mat Feagai as the Dragons' right edge muscles up to force a turnover.

20 min: A neat grubber by Ethan Sanders for Hudson Young to follow through and ground the ball just inside the dead ball line. Sanders converts. 6-6

17 min: Consecutive penalties against Corey Horsburgh for offside and Ethan Sanders for a high tackle have the Dragons camped in the red zone but Kyle Flanagan comes up with a grubber that is far too heavy. Seven-tackle set for Canberra.

15 min: Ethan Strange shows plenty of strength and great footwork to bamboozle the Dragons and leave four defenders in his wake but a last-ditch tackle by Toby Couchman dislodges the ball before grounding. NO TRY.

12 min: Kyle Flanagan makes a line break and is dragged down just short before the Dragons make a mess of their last-tackle play and turn the ball over.

11 min: Kaeo Weekes puts the kick-off out on the full and the Raiders are under the pump again.

9 min: Ethan Sanders' pass is put down by Zac Hosking, the ball is swooped on by Tyrell Sloan who races 70 metres to open the scoring. Val Holmes converts. Dragons 6-0

8 min: A left side raid by the Dragons unlocks Clint Gutherson who grubbers back infield for Val Holmes to chase. Kaeo Weekes and Xavier Savage chase hard along with Holmes and the Dragons centre is ruled to have knocked on as he tried to ground it.

4 min: A wide kick by Dan Atkinson is taken by Savelio Tamale with his foot planted over the sideline but he is ruled to have caught the ball first and then put his foot down so the Dragons have a scrum.

3 min: Setu Tu climbs high to contest an attacking kick with Savelio Tamale and the ball spills free to Hamish Stewart who dives over the line but replays show Tu had knocked the ball on into the Raiders winger.

Late Mail

Raiders: The Green Machine line up 1-19 with no late changes. Simi Sasagi returns from a calf injury and comes straight into the centres, with Seb Kris shifting to the interchange. Emerging fullback Chevy Stewart has been named on the six-man bench and could provide attacking X-factor as the Raiders look to kick-start their season. 

Dragons: Nick Tsougranis drops out of the side 90 minutes before kick-off with Jacob Halangahu and Lyhkan King-Togia rounding out the interchange. Moses Suli remains sidelined for a second-straight week after going down in the warm-up before the Round 16 clash with the Knights. That will see Tyrell Sloan remain on the wing and Mat Feagai at centre in an unchanged starting side. 

Numbers Game

• The Raiders have won five of their last six games against the Dragons.
• The Dragons have not won at GIO Stadium since 2015.
• The Raiders have lost five from seven at GIO Stadium this season.
• Dragons centre Valentine Holmes has scored seven tries in six games at GIO Stadium.
• Raiders centre Matt Timoko has scored five tries in his last five games against the Dragons.