Ponga urges Knights to find another gear in run home

Knights captain Kalyn Ponga wants his team to find an extra gear in the weeks ahead after they escaped with a 12-6 victory over Wests Tigers at McDonald Jones Stadium.

Both teams struggled to handle the slippery conditions but the Knights scored two second-half tries, including a Bradman Best match-winner in the 74th minute, to erase a 6-0 half-time deficit and secure a fourth straight home win by single digits. 

With 10 victories to their credit, fifth-placed Newcastle are one of four teams on 24 points and host another of those sides, the third-placed Dolphins, in Round 18.

Ponga and Best will miss that game because of State of Origin commitments but the visitors will be without at least six stars.

Halfback Isaiya Katoa has a broken wrist, and new NSW winger Jack Bostock will join Dolphins teammates Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Selwyn Cobbo, Max Plath and Thomas Flegler in the Origin decider. 

The Knights will then test their finals credentials in a challenging stretch against the Rabbitohs (away), Sharks (away), Roosters (home), Broncos (away) and Raiders (away). 

Ponga and the Newcastle playmakers were out of sorts in attack for much of the game against Wests Tigers, though he threw the last pass for Dylan Lucas to score their first try. 

“It was a bit scrappy. As a spine, we’ve got to take a bit of accountability for our team,” Ponga said. 

“First half, [we had] a bit of joy but just not being patient with the footy, then second half, I think our skill was pretty poor – in the conditions. 

“We’re finding ways to win during this period but we need to be better into this next block of the season, into the back-end of the season. 

“Winning, it’s nice to win, but we’ve got to go again. We’ve got to find a gear.” 

Though the Knights struggled to find their attacking groove against Wests Tigers, Ponga was responsible for the defensive play of the game. 

Midway through the second half, when the scores were locked at 6-6, the Queensland fullback turned, chased and made a try-saving tackle on Tigers centre Heamasi Makasini. 

“Kalyn’s known for how well he’s going to be in attack. He's going to set up tries and score them,” Knights coach Justin Holbrook said. 

“But it ended up what could have been the winning moment was his chase back, and then our whole team got back there. 

“It wasn’t the 80th minute that happened, but again, if they score there, we’re in trouble. 

“In these tough conditions, it was always going to be hard to score, so that’s the pleasing thing for me – learning how to win different ways. 

“We keep finding ways to win and that’s what good sides do, and you’ve got to keep racking up the wins.

"We could have easily sat here and not got the result, but we got it, and that’s the main thing.”