Knights Hang Tough

The Newcastle Knights have consolidated their spot in the top eight with a hard fought 22-18 victory over fellow playoff contenders the Cronulla Sharks in their round 21 NRL clash tonight at Toyota Park in Sydney.

Both Newcastle and Cronulla were desperate for the win heading into the match after enduring a lean patch over the last month that has seen them drop to the fringes of the top eight. After an end-to-end battle it was the Knights who came out on top courtesy of herculean efforts from half back Andrew Johns and hooker Danny Buderus.

As usual it was Johns who pulled the strings for the Novocastrians as he scored the match winning try and had a hand in the other three scored by the visitors, but it was Buderus who led the Knights game turning defensive effort by tackling himself to a standstill that saw him end the match with a tally of 38.

For Cronulla it was a night of missed chances yet again as they fell to their fifth straight defeat which now leaves them sitting precariously in eighth position with five rounds to go.

Having started poorly in their past four losses the Sharks were looking for a good beginning in front of their own fans and they got it in the third minute when Newcastle prop Josh Perry was penalised for stripping the ball 10 metres from his own posts.

Cronulla winger Luke Covell made no mistake with the simple penalty shot to extend his amazing goals streak to 28 straight.

That advantage was short lived though as Newcastle hit the front five minutes later after video referee Graeme West gave the green light for a scrambled try to centre George Carmont.

The try came about after ex Knight Darren Albert spilled an Andrew Johns bomb and Carmont was first on the scene to claim the opening try of the match, which Johns converted to give the visitors a 6-2 lead.

Having gifted a try to his former team Albert thought he had levelled the scores when he made a long range break, but much to his surprise Newcastle five eighth Jarrod Mullen was waiting for him 20 metres from the try line after receiving treatment from the trainer.

That bizarre piece of play wasn’t enough to stop the rampaging Sharks though as two plays later lock Paul Gallen crashed through two defenders to make it 6-6.

Amazingly, Covell missed the relatively easy conversion attempt to end his run of successes at 28.

Newcastle looked certain to regain the lead in the 18th minute when a well crafted pass from centre Matt Gidley put British international Brian Carney into space, but Cronulla centre Ben Pomeroy saved the day with an astonishing one handed tackle to pull Carney into touch one metre short of the try line.

Minutes later the Sharks thought they had found their second try of the game when Pomeroy dived on a loose ball in the in goal area, but after a quick check by the video referee his effort was denied because of a knock on by Covell in the lead up play.

Cronulla weren’t to be denied five minutes later though when a beautiful stepping effort close to the line by Gallen created space for second rower Lance Thompson and the big redhead crashed over next to the posts to give the home side a much-deserved six-point advantage after 26 minutes of play.

Things started going further south for the Knights at the half hour mark with the crafty Mullen leaving the field with a sternum injury and second rower Steve Simpson, who was suffering from a leg injury, quickly followed him to the dressing room.

With his team struggling Johns was able to conjure up a try out of nothing for Newcastle as he threw a sensational ball to Gidley who quickly shifted it to Carney to touch down in the left hand corner a minute before the half time siren.

Johns was unable to convert the sideline conversion to leave Knights trailing 12-10 at the main break.

Johns creative juices continued to flow early in the second half as he helped give Newcastle the lead again when he sent prop Adam Woolnough over next to the posts to make it 16-12.

Once again their lead didn’t last long as a jinking run from Cronulla centre Nigel Vagana in the 55th minute created an opening for interchange forward Reece Williams to place the ball down on the chalk and give the home side an 18-16 lead heading into the final quarter of the match.

The parry and thrust nature of the game continued in the 62nd minute when Johns showed why he is the best player on the planet by gliding through the Sharks defensive line to once again put the Knights in front by four after he converted his own try (22-18).

Cronulla tried in vain to hit back over the last fifteen minutes of the game, but a grinding effort from the Novocastrians in defence kept the home side scoreless and meant that they picked up the two vital competition points that now sees them move into sixth place on the NRL ladder.

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