Sunday feast: Sea Eagles v Knights; Dolphins v Titans

41 min: Terrible news for the Knights with Dylan Brown also ruled out for the rest of the game with a MCL injury.

Turbo charged: Manly's fullback Tom Trbojevic was also damaging in the opening 40 with 109 run metres, three tackle breaks and a try. 

Half-time: The Knights have 40 minutes to try and protect their lead without gun No.1 Kalyn Ponga, who injured his hamstring. Ponga was sensational in his 28 minutes on the field with a try, five tackle breaks and 109 run metres.

39 min: More joy for the Knights as Tom Trbojevic spills a bomb and Tyson Frizell is on hand to pick up the scraps and score. Sandon Smith converts. Knights 30-10.

36 min: A piece of magic from Dylan Brown as he slices his way through the defence with a right-foot step before producing a flick pass for Fletcher Hunt to scoot away and score. Sandon Smith converts. Knights 24-10.

33 min: Tolu Koula gets a grubber into the in-goal and Fletcher Hunt knocks the ball dead. The short dropout evades everyone and goes into touch so the Knights get the ball back.

29 min: A massive blow for the Knights with Kalyn Ponga hobbling off clutching his hamstring. That's day over for the champion No.1.

26 min: The Knights hit back with an 80-metre raid started by Sandon Smith putting Bradman Best into a hole and the centre picking up Kalyn Ponga who sprints 30 metres to score but feels for his hamstring after touching down. Smith takes over the kicking and adds the extras. Knights 18-10.

21 min: Tom Trbojevic takes the ball from a set scrum 10 metres out and picks out Phoenix Crossland in the line. Turbo is just too big and too strong and powers in for his 113th career try. Jamal Fogarty pulls the conversion left. Knights 12-10.

19 min: Luke Brooks hoists the ball high and Tolu Koula zeroes in on Kalyn Ponga and drills him in the ribs just as the Knights No.1 caught the ball. The ball spills free and Manly set up camp in the red zone.

15 min: A show-and-go from Jamal Fogarty opens up the Knights defence and he races 25 metres to score Manly's first. Fogarty converts his own try. Knights 12-6.

14 min: Tolu Koula and Ben Trbojevic muscle up in defence to force an error from Jermaine McEwen and Manly are on the attack.

12 min: More slick backline work from the Knights as Kalyn Ponga goes to first receiver and sends it on to Dylan Brown who sends a superb overhead pass to Dom Young who powers into the right-hand corner. Ponga nails the conversion again. Knights 12-0.

10 min: Some razzle dazzle from Kalyn Ponga has Manly on high alert before the play eventually breaks down on the last tackle when Dom Young puts it down.

7 min: Jamal Fogarty grubbers towards the corner and Jason Saab reaches out to try and tap it back but the ball travels forward before landing in the in-goal for Reuben Garrick to dive on.

2 min: The ideal start for the Knights after Kalyn Ponga and Bradman Best combine to put Greg Marzhew over. Ponga had kicked off the match but Luke Brooks let the ball bounce and it went dead, forcing Manly to drop the ball out and the Knights struck in their first set. Ponga converts from wide out. Knights 6-0.

Late Mail

Sea Eagles: Youngster Joey Walsh drops out of the squad 90 minutes before kick-off. Former Bronco Kobe Hetherington comes into the starting side in place of Siosiua Taukeiaho (calf). Hetherington had a disrupted pre-season but made his club debut off the bench in the Round 1 loss to Canberra. Paul Bryan, Brandon Wakeham and Josh Feledy are all part of the six-man bench and in line to play their first NRL match for Manly.

Knights: Sandon Smith will wear the No.6 jersey after Fletcher Sharpe suffered a knee injury in Las Vegas. Tyson Frizell was named to start at lock but has again swapped with Mat Croker on game day. Tyson Gamble and James Schiller came out of the squad in the 24-hour update while Cody Hopwood dropped out on game day.

Numbers Game

• The Sea Eagles have won only one of their past four games against Newcastle.
• The Knights have won only four of 23 games at 4 Pines Park.
• Sea Eagles centre Tolu Koula has scored a try in 10 consecutive games at 4 Pines Park.
• Knights winger Greg Marzhew has scored six tries in seven games against the Sea Eagles.
• Sea Eagles second-rower Haumole Olakau’atu has scored five tries in his last six games against the Knights.

 

Dolphins v Titans at Suncorp Stadium

Late Mail

Dolphins: One late change on game day, with Max Plath, who has returned from an ACL tear, elevated to the starting hooker role, moving Brad Schneider to the bench. Ray Stone is set for his first game of the season and has been listed on the bench. The Dolphins have won five of their six games against Gold Coast and they're looking to keep that going on Sunday night. 

Titans: No late changes on game day. Sam Verrills will take his place in the team despite suffering a sternum injury in last Saturday's loss to the Sharks. Earlier, the Titans also made a late change, with Jensen Taumoepeau added the the six-man bench and in the mix for an NRL debut. Zane Harrison dropped out of the squad and travelled to Cairns to play Queensland Cup. 

Numbers Game

• The Dolphins have won five of their six games against the Titans.
• Titans winger Phillip Sami has scored four tries in his last four games against the Dolphins.
• Dolphins winger Selwyn Cobbo requires one try for 50 NRL tries.
• The Titans have conceded 118 points in their last three games at Suncorp Stadium.
• Dolphins fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow has scored 17 tries in his last 11 games at Suncorp Stadium.