NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS 12 BRISBANE BRONCOS 46
TOM SMITH, McDonald Jones Stadium, Sunday
BRISBANE playmaker Ben Hunt celebrated his 350th NRL appearance with a thumping win over Newcastle.
The Knights trailed by just eight with a quarter of the game remaining, before the Broncos slammed on five late tries.
Milestone man Hunt and brilliant fullback Reece Walsh pulled the strings, Payne Haas was his dominant best in the middle and Deine Mariner nabbed a brace in Brisbane’s rout.
The result keeps the Queenslanders in the hunt for a top-four slot and condemns the Novocastrians to their seventh straight defeat.
It took Kotoni Staggs just three minutes to notch the first points, before Josiah Karapani crossed down the other edge.
Walsh gift-wrapped a try for unheralded forward Kobe Hetherington in his 100th match, although Phoenix Crossland kicked neatly for Leo Thompson to keep Newcastle in touch.
Mariner kicked off the second half by finding the right corner, but the hosts refused to go away, hitting back via Bradman Best from a Jermaine McEwen kick.
Jake Arthur spilled a runaway chance that would have brought the Knights even closer.
From there, though, the Broncos ran riot.
Patrick Carrigan released Haas, Walsh made a superb solo run from inside his own half and Billy Walters sent Gehamat Shibasaki down the short side.
Not done there, Walsh put Mariner in again and Jordan Riki shrugged off some tired defence, before Shibasaki was sin-binned or a professional foul at the death.
KNIGHTS: 3 Dane Gagai, 2 Dom Young, 4 Bradman Best, 19 James Schiller, 21 Fletcher Hunt, 6 Jake Arthur, 7 Jack Cogger, 8 Jacob Saifiti, 9 Phoenix Crossland, 10 Leo Thompson, 11 Jermaine McEwen, 12 Kai Pearce-Paul, 13 Tyson Frizell. Subs (all used): 14 Jayden Brailey, 15 Mat Croker, 16 Thomas Cant, 17 Elijah Salesa-Leaumoana
Tries: Thompson (33), Best (55); Goals: Cogger 2/2
BRONCOS: 1 Reece Walsh, 2 Josiah Karapani, 3 Kotoni Staggs, 4 Gehamat Shibasaki, 5 Deine Mariner, 6 Billy Walters, 7 Ben Hunt, 8 Corey Jensen, 9 Cory Paix, 10 Payne Haas, 11 Jaiyden Hunt, 12 Jordan Riki, 13 Patrick Carrigan. Subs (all used): 14 Tyson Smoothy, 15 Kobe Hetherington, 16 Ben Talty, 17 Jesse Arthars
Tries: Staggs (3), Karapani (8), Hetherington (27), Mariner (45, 74), Haas (60), Walsh (67), Shibasaki (69), Riki (78); Goals: Walsh 3/6, Hunt 1/2, Smoothy 1/1; Sin bin: Shibasaki (80) — professional foul
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-4, 0-8, 0-14, 6-14; 6-20, 12-20, 12-26, 12-32, 12-36, 12-40, 12-46
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Knights: Kai Pearce-Paul; Broncos: Reece Walsh
Penalty count: 7-3; Half-time: 6-14; Referee: Todd Smith; Attendance: 25,814