Knights come from 18 down to beat Warriors

Newcastle came from 18-0 down to upset the Warriors 24-19 in Saturday night’s NRL game in Auckland.

The Knights’ fourth win in five matches drew them level with the Warriors in ninth place on the ladder after showing more composure and intensity than the hosts, who appeared to relax after taking the early lead.

The Warriors looked set to run away with the game in the first 20 minutes, scoring three converted tries as the Knights barely touched the ball.

Nathan Friend opened after latching onto a Feleti Mateo offload and Shaun Johnson then strode through some weak tackling to score under the posts.

A penalty gave the Warriors more possession 10 minutes later and another Mateo offload put Ben Matulino over by the posts for Maloney’s third conversion to make the scoreline 18-0.

A couple of penalties and a relaxing of Warriors’ intensity brought Newcastle back into the game and Akuila Uate crossed in the right-hand corner.

James Maloney slotted a field goal to give the Warriors a 19-6 lead with two minutes left in the first half.

But a dropped ball by Jacob Lillyman gifted the Knights the ball with a minute to go and the visitors scored in the left-hand corner through Kevin Naiqama.

The Knights bombed a try soon after halftime when Uate dropped the ball over the line, but the winger made up for it a few minutes later with a 40m run which gave them the momentum to be able to put Timana Tahu over in the left corner on the next play.

Newcastle then took the lead after the Warriors threw the ball away on an attacking last-tackle play and Dane Gagai scooted 80m to touch down.

Tyrone Roberts kicked his third sideline conversion to give his team a 24-19 lead.

The hosts tried to up their intensity in the last 15 minutes but the Knights held on for a deserved win.

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