A four try haul to winger David Fusitua has helped New Zealand Warriors demolish last-placed Newcastle 50-14 and move a step closer to the NRL top eight.
The Warriors right edge attack caused Newcastle headaches all afternoon on Saturday as Fusitua crossed four times, including a three times during a 10-minute period in the second half that put the game out of reach.
The Knights were held scoreless in the second-half at Hunter Stadium and crashed to their eighth straight loss.
It was the third time they conceded 50 or more points through 14 rounds in 2016.
The pivotal moment came shortly after half-time when bench prop David Saifiti dropped the ball with the line open after Knights debutant Brendan Elliot had plucked a bomb out of the air.
The Warriors went the length of the field in the ensuing set, with Fusitua touching down in the corner to make it 28-14.
Fusitua then scored twice more in the next 10 minutes before Solomone Kata finished off some nice work from Warriors back-rower Ryan Hoffman.
Albert Vete grabbed his second try with five minutes to go as the floodgates opened in front of a crowd of 12,222.
The Warriors were coming off their best performance of the season, a dominant 36-18 win over the Broncos at Mt Smart Stadium, and were keen to string back-to-back wins together for only the second time this season.
Coincidentally, the other occasion involved the lowly Knights, who the Warriors thumped 40-18 in Round 4.
The Warriors led 22-14 at half-time after tries to Albert Vete, Fusitua, Manu Vatuvei and Bodene Thompson.
Elliot was one of the Knights’ best, scoring a try from a Jack Cogger kick and saving another during a five minute period in the first half.
But the Knights made too many errors coming out of their own end and their attack lacked the polish to stick with the slick Warriors outfit.
The win puts the Warriors on 14 competition points and leapfrogged them into ninth place on the ladder, behind the Titans and Bulldogs on for-and-against.
The Knights have been left languishing at the bottom of the ladder, five points adrift from the Roosters.
