Wests Tigers fell to a 10-8 defeat to Newcastle in Round 1 of the Telstra Premiership at Campbelltown.
Match: Wests Tigers v Knights
Round 1 -
home Team
Wests Tigers
11th Position
away Team
Knights
7th Position
Venue: Campbelltown Sports Stadium, Sydney
After leading 8-0 at half-time, the Knights slowly gained a foothold on the contest in the second half to secure victory.
An Alex Twal offload helped lead to the first try of the evening for Wests Tigers, with Jeral Skelton finishing in the left corner after some second-phase play from the home side.
Wests Tigers extended their lead to eight with a 28th-minute penalty goal from the boot of Adam Doueihi.
Newcastle then went close to scoring through Bradman Best, however the centre promoted the ball as he went to plant it down.
The score remained 8-0 at the break as tensions began to flare towards the back end of the first half.
A 51st minute solo charge from Knights back-rower Dylan Lucas led to Fletcher Sharpe scoring on the next play and Newcastle went on to hit the front in the 68th minute when Ponga and Best combined to set up Greg Marzhew.
Wests Tigers fought hard in attempting to grab a late match-winner but were ultimately unable to post points.
The final score at Campbelltown read 10-8 in favour of the visitors in Round 1.
Knights 10 (Sharpe, Marzhew tries; Ponga 1/2 goals) defeated Wests Tigers 8 (Skelton try; Doueihi 2/2 goals) at Campbelltown Sports Stadium.
