Newcastle 27-6 Brisbane: Knights too strong for Broncos

Newcastle put in a strong display to beat Brisbane 27-6 at Central Coast Stadium. 

Kurt Mann opened the scoring for the Knights in the ninth minute, with Kalyn Ponga converting to give his side a 6-0 lead.

Broncos full-back Jamayne Isaako was sin-binned midway through the first half for a professional foul, while Hymel Hunt extended Newcastle’s lead just moments later.

Xavier Coates pulled one back for Anthony Seibold’s Broncos on the half hour mark with a 90-metre intercept, with Herbie Farnworth kicking the goal.

Mitchell Pearce added a drop goal in the 39th minute to send Adam O’Brien’s Knights 13-6 in front at half-time.

Daniel Saifiti charged over for the Knights shortly after the second half restart, with Ponga adding the extras to give his side a comfortable 19-6 advantage.

Brisbane forward Patrick Carrigan was sent to the sin bin on the hour mark for a professional foul – and Ponga added a penalty goal as a result.

And with two minutes left on the clock, Pearce wrapped up an impressive Newcastle performance as he scored. Ponga converted to secure a strong 27-6 win for the Knights.

Newcastle: Ponga; Lee, Best, Shibasaki, Hunt; Mann, Pearce; Klemmer, McCullough, D Saifiti, Fitzgibbon, Mata’utia, Glasby. Subs: Ese’ese, Hoy, J Saifiti, Guerra.

Tries: Mann, Hunt, D Saifiti, Pearce Goals: Ponga 5/5 Drop Goals: Pearce 1

Brisbane: Isaako; Coates, Farnworth, Boyd, Oates; Milford, Croft; Lodge, Luke, Haas, Glenn, Pangai Junior, Carrigan. Subs: Paix, Te’o, Ofahengaue, Flegler.

Tries: Coates Goals: Farnworth 1/1

Watch NRL and live stream every NRL game to keep up with how Tom Burgess, John Bateman, Ryan Sutton, Elliott Whitehead, James Graham, George Williams and all the others are getting on Down Under.

Watch our Last Tackle podcast, featuring a guest, every week. SUBSCRIBE to Love Rugby League on YouTube.