The Round 23 clash between the Storm and Knights at Hunter Stadium was swept up in controversy when, in a close-fought match, Storm halfback Cooper Cronk was penalised but not sin-binned for a professional foul on Knights fullback Darius Boyd in the 55th minute.

Boyd had set off in pursuit of an attacking kick from Knights five-eighth Jarrod Mullen, deep in Storm territory. The Knights were incensed that Cronk was allowed to stay on the field, but were at least able to get two points from a penalty goal to level the game up at 10-10.

The Knights had led 8-0, through tries from Joseph Leilua and Akuila Uate, and then 8-4 at halftime.

The Storm had been on a roll at the time of the Cronk-Boyd incident, and the Knights could have done with a one-man advantage for 10 minutes.

It was all the Storm in the final 20 minutes, Cronk setting up a try for Billy Slater and kicking a field-goal, and Bryan Norrie putting the cream on the cake with a try in the final minute of a 23-10 win.