NRLW season opener: Sharks v Knights

40 min: Fane Finau puts the ball down cold with the Knights on the attack but Caitlan Johnston-Green hands it straight back with a poor offload.

37 min: Georgia Hannaway delivers a perfectly timed pass to put Rhiannon Byers into a hole and she powers 40m to score the Sharks' first try. Chanya Kiria-Ratu can't convert from wide out. 4-4

36 min: Jules Kirkpatrick makes a mess of the play the ball and the Sharks get a shot at early points.

Hard to handle: Knights winger Shanice Parker came up with five tackle breaks and a line break to go with 72 run metres. 

Taylor made for league: Rugby Sevens international Sidney Taylor only signed with the Knights in May but looks a natural after setting up a try and running for 139 metres in her first 35 minutes in the NRLW. 

35 min: Georgia Roche is sent to the sin bin after trying to put kick pressure on Chantay Kiria-Ratu but making contact with the kicker's leg. The Knights will play the first 10 minutes of the second half with 12 players.

35 min: A crash play for Tayla Predebon on the last tackle but the Sharks defence stands firm and they will go to the break trailing by just four points despite playing 10 minutes of the half a player down.

33 min: A high tackle against Quincy Dodd gives the Knights a chance to build on their lead.

32 min: Georgia Hannaway loses her way on the last play and is dragged to ground and fails to get a kick away.

29 min: Georgia Roche is too heavy with her kick from close range and the Sharks again are let off the hook.

22 min: Sienna Yeo comes up with an error 40m out from her own line to hand the Sharks a shot at points.

19 min: The Knights create space on the left edge but the last pass from Lilly-Ann White to Mercedez Taulelei-Siala floats forward.

16 min: The Knights are hot on the attack again but Tayla Predebon makes a mess of the play the ball and the opportunity is lost.

15 min: Sharks forward Steph Faulkner leaves the field in some discomfort with an ankle issue. She is ruled out for the rest of the night.

15 min: A poor offload by Chantay Kiria-Ratu is picked off by Tanika Willison and the Knights are out of trouble.

13 min: Kirra Dibb grubbers on the last play but it's just too strong and goes dead to hand the Sharks a seven-tackle set.

10 min: The Knights strike immediately on the right edge as Rugby convert Sidney Taylor delivers the final pass for Shanice Parker to cross in the corner. That's 12 career tries for Parker in 47 career games. Kirra Dibb fails to convert. Knights 4-0

9 min: Lilly-Ann White brings the ball back and Annessa Biddle drags her down in a hip drop tackle that leaves the Knights No.1 in pain. Biddle is placed on report and is sent to the sin bin. The Sharks go down to 12 players.

8 min: Kirra Dibb takes the ball to the line on the last and is well wrapped up by Rhiannon Byers.

7 min: Quincy Dodd goes to the grubber on last play but the Knights watch it roll dead and come away after a strong defensive set.

5 min: Chantay Kiria-Ratu goes to the air and Lilly-Ann White comes up with an error to invite the Sharks into the red zone.

Late Mail

Sharks: No late changes for the Sharks. Quincy Dodd will captain the side with centre Tiana Penitani Gray unavailable as she recovers from a knee injury suffered during the Origin series. Rhiannon Byers will line up in the centres in her place, with Annessa Biddle the other centre. Former Rugby Sevens star Madison Ashby will make her NRLW debut off the interchange. Anne-Marie Kiria-Ratu is the 18th player.

Knights: The Knights are 1-17 with no late changes. New recruit Kirra Dibb will line up at five-eighth in her return to Newcastle after three years at the Cowboys. Coach Ben Jeffries has opted for young gun Lilly-Ann White in the No.1 jumper over Bo Vette-Welsh. The 18th player is Cheyelle Robins-Reti.

Numbers Game

• The Sharks have won their last two games against the Knights.
• The Knights have won three of their last four Round 1 games.
• Sharks winger Georgia Ravics has scored four tries in three games against the Knights.
• Knights five-eighth Kirra Dibb requires four points for 200 NRLW points.