Newcastle’s frantic 42-38 victory over Souths at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday came down to one desperate tackle on one of the NRL’s most dangerous attacking players in the final few seconds.
Ten minutes earlier, Latrell Mitchell had scored in the south-eastern corner then converted from the sideline to give Souths a 38-36 lead after the Rabbitohs had trailed 22-0 after 23 minutes and 28-10 after 29.
After Trey Mooney’s 73rd minute converted try edged the Knights back in front by four, Souths had one last chance as the clock ticked towards zero and, naturally, they looked to match-winner Mitchell.
But Mitchell, man-handled by Phoenix Crossland, Dylan Lucas, Dane Gagai and Dom Young, lost the ball lunging for the line in the same corner and the Knights hung on for their first win in four weeks.
“I think we had seven or eight guys in the frame there, which you probably need to stop Latrell,” said Knights coach Justin Holbrook.
“We may have needed nine, but we did it, and we got the win.”
The frantic final play
Souths captain Cameron Murray said the Rabbitohs never gave up hope, despite the lopsided score in the first half, because of the gifted attacking players in their side.
“I’m done being surprised by what Latrell can do. He’s a pretty special player,” Murray said.
“We’ve got players like Latrell in our team where if we just win field position, and the forwards lay a platform for him and get them into a position where they can do things like that, good things come off the back of that. The challenge for us is to consistently do that.”
Latrell Mitchell Try
Mitchell’s left-edge partners Cody Walker and Alex Johnston scored two tries each to drag Souths back into the game after their fumble-fingered first 20 minutes.
“In that first 15-20 minutes we had our backs against the wall there and a few tries against us, we couldn’t really get out of our half, and when we got the opportunity to have the ball, we gave it back to them,” Murray said.
“A lot of the start comes down to our errors, handing them field position, then not being able to defend our errors.
“There’s been some pretty high-scoring games this year and momentum can shift pretty fast, and when you have momentum, it’s hard for the other team to win it back.”
Though Souths boast one of the NRL’s most lethal left edges, Newcastle showed in the first half how dangerous their left-side attacking unit can be at full strength.
Dylan Lucas Try
Seven days earlier, only a few hours before the under-manned Knights succumbed 44-12 to Penrith, Kalyn Ponga, Lucas, Bradman Best and Greg Marzhew were training together at the club’s nearby Centre of Excellence in their final week of injury rehab.
All four returned from injury against Souths, and Ponga, Best, and halves Fletcher Sharpe and Dylan Brown helped set up a hat-trick of tries for Marzhew and a brace for Lucas.
“They’re all class players so it was great to have them back. That first half, Dyl, Bradman, obviously Kalyn is a big part in it, that was huge,” Holbrook said.
“Dyl Brown has had a few games back now, Sharpey’s had a few games back... so once they get their cohesion and match fitness to go with it, we’re going to be in a good spot.
No one is catching the Brown bomb
“We’re trying to get going again as a team, having them missing for so long...
“But I’m really happy that, considering we let them back in, we were behind on the scoreboard and we had to win it twice – and we were good enough to do that.”
Ponga said he and the other injured Knights had worked hard during their rehabilitation and were pleased to be back in action.
“The game’s pretty quick at the moment, the momentum shift is pretty fast, but I’m just happy and grateful to be back out there and grateful to get the win,” Ponga said.
Best, who had three try assists and ran for 140 metres, looked untroubled by the groin injury that had sidelined him for the past month.
Trey Mooney 2nd Try
“It was good to be back, but more importantly it was good to get the two points,” Best said.
“It was all going to plan, we were just flowing, it was all working for us in that first half, but we went away from it in the second half as a team. Ill-discipline, penalties, dropped ball, we definitely let them back in and it nearly lost us the game but it was good that we won.
“We know what their left side is and what they bring, with Latrell and plenty of quality out there. We knew it was coming but I guess when it was time to make that tackle, the boys showed up and we forced the error, so it was good.”
