After a scoreless first half Newcastle Knights secured a tightly fought 14-8 victory today against the Cronulla Sharks at the McDonald Jones Stadium.
It was the first scoreless half in an NRL game since 2013, and the first try didn’t come until the 68th minute when new signing Tim Glasby got over the line for the Knights, after Shaun Johnson and Kalyn Ponga had traded second-half penalties.
The Sharks equalised soon afterwards when Sione Katoa was controversially awarded a penalty try for obstruction by Edrick Lee.
But Lee was the hero on 75 minutes when he intercepted a Chad Townsend pass and raced 80 metres to touch down for a try against his former club that was converted by Ponga.
The early signs are that the Knights, coached by former Huddersfield and St Helens coach Nathan Brown, are in for a much improved season, helped by their new recruits Lee, Glasby and David Klemmer, which Shaun Johnson, recruited from the New Zealand Warriors, had a relatively quiet game for the Sharks.
Knights: T – Glasby, Lee; G – Ponga 3
Sharks: T – Katoa; G – Johnson 2
For full coverage and photos from this weekend’s NRL matches, see Monday’s edition of League Express