Newcastle inflicted the first defeat of
Des Hasler’s reign at Canterbury with a grinding 20-6 NRL win at
ANZ Stadium on Sunday.
The Knights, under Wayne Bennett, have endured a sluggish start
to the season, losing two of three games, but they produced their
most convincing performance this year running in three tries and
holding the Bulldogs scoreless until the 79th minute.
The Bulldogs were also hit by the loss of halfback Trent
Hodkinson early in the first half, with the former Manly star
limping off with a medial ligament injury to his left knee that
will sideline him for up to six weeks.
The Knights displayed all the hallmarks of a Bennett side,
playing efficient and risk-free football, and it paid dividends as
the Bulldogs’ attack failed to fire in the face of some excellent
defence from the visitors.
Knights skipper Kurt Gidley made a surprise return to the side
just two weeks after dislocating his shoulder, and the NSW utility
was involved in the build-up to his side’s first try scored by
Richie Fa’aoso after seven minutes.
The big front-rower linked up well with fellow prop Kade Snowden
and raced under the posts to give Gidley the simple task of tapping
over the conversion.
The Knights constantly tested Bulldogs dangerman Ben Barba with
the high ball and although the young fullback coped well with the
barrage, he was unable to have any influence going forward as the
Knights smothered any of his attacking forays.
Jarrod Mullen extended his side’s lead midway through the
opening half, spotting a gap in the Bulldogs’ defence before
lunging underneath a Barba tackle to score, with Gidley adding the
second of his four goals.
Gidley stretched the advantage early in the second period with a
penalty and the Knights controlled the pace game, with veteran
hooker Danny Buderus showing all his experience with a
man-of-the-match performance.
An error count of 15 and a completion rate of 62 per cent was
the story of the day for the Bulldogs, who simply ran out of ideas
in the second half.
And it was no surprise when the Knights went over for a third
try, with Alex McKinnon scoring his first for the club eight
minutes from time.
Joel Romelo gave the home crowd of 20,701 something to cheer
about with the last play of the game, with Steve Turner kicking the
conversion.
AAP
