It was the Best of times for Newcastle and the worst of times for the Bulldogs at Accor Stadium on Sunday as the Knights routed the blue and whites to the tune of 66-0.
The Knights had stars across the park but it was rampaging centre Bradman Best who stole the show with his first career hat-trick as Newcastle racked up the biggest win in the club's 35-year history.
Skipper Kalyn Ponga was also outstanding for Newcastle with 154 running metres, three try assists and 11 goals from 11 attempts to equal Immortal Andrew Johns' club record for most goals in a match.
After errors punctuated the game early it was the Knights crossing in the 13th minute when Jackson Hastings took the ball two passes off a scrum and raced 25 metres to score untouched.
The Knights struck again in the 17th minute when Ponga went left and put Best into a hole for his sixth try of the season. Ponga converted for a 12-0 lead.
Three of the Best
With 14 minutes remaining in the half Newcastle went further ahead when back-rower Lachlan Fitzgibbon proved far too strong for Khaled Rajab from close range and the score blew out to 18-0.
The Bulldogs then put the kick-off out on the full to invite the Knights straight back on the attack but the Bulldogs' defence held firm.
Come the 35th minute and the Bulldogs cracked again when Ponga delivered the final pass for Phoenix Crossland to scoot over for the Knights' fourth try.
The Knights needed just three minutes to strike in the second half when Kurt Mann crossed before Greg Marzhew finished off a left side raid to make it 42-0.
Fitzgibbon sets up Mann
When Hastings crossed for his double in the 52nd minute after slick lead-up by Ponga and Best the Knights were out to 48-0 and the Bulldogs' missed tackle count had hit 45.
A dropped ball by Bulldogs centre Paul Alamoti in the 57th minute was scooped up by Best who ran 60 metres to score to complete the first hat-trick of his career.
Enari Tuala was next to cross for Newcastle with 14 minutes to play and Ponga's 10th conversion of the day made it 60-0.
The Bulldogs' pain continued in the 70th minute when Crossland made it a double and the Knights had 11 tries for the day.
The Bulldogs have now conceded 173 points in their past four games and their points differential of -220 is the worst in the competition.
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Match Snapshot
- The Knights had 22 sets in the first half compared to 15 for the Bulldogs and made 363 more metres with the ball.
- Knights centre Bradman Best has scored a try in his past four games against the Bulldogs.
- Kalyn Ponga was at his scintillating best for the Knights with 154 running metres, nine tackle breaks and three try assists.
- Knights centre Bradman Best ran for 143 metres and broke seven tackles to go with three tries.
- Bulldogs halfback Matt Burton was placed on report in the 78th minute for a hip drop tackle.
Ponga sends Best over for a try
- The Bulldogs have won only one of their past six games at Accor Stadium.
- The Knights have won four of their past five games against the Bulldogs.
- The Bulldogs missed 66 tackles compared to 13 by the Knights.
- Blockbusting Knights winger Greg Marzhew had 15 tackle breaks and ran for 202 metres.
- The Knights' previous biggest win in their history was 60-0 against South Sydney in Round 23, 1999.
Hastings show and go try
Play of the Game
Back-rowers Lachlan Fitzgibbon and Adam Elliott had a field day in the first half, coming up with three offloads as the Knights' second-phase play opened up the Bulldogs on several occasions. In the 37th minute it was Fitzgibbon flopping a ball out the back for skipper Kalyn Ponga to explode into a hole and glide 35 metres before drawing the fullback and putting Bradman Best over for Newcastle's fifth try in a dominant first half.
Kalyn Ponga having a blinder
What they Said
"The leadership group set the tone early in the week and set the standards. It's been an emotional week for the team, for the club, for myself. Just really proud to get the result and get a smile on everyone's face for a couple of hours. Bradman Best had a real good summer, and I'm a firm believer that the better your summer is, the better your season will be. He has put the work in and I'm really happy for him. The record win is something for this group to hang onto. It's great for the piece of history for the players." - Knights coach Adam O'Brien
Knights: Round 18
"It was one of those games where the harder we tried the worse it got. Any time they came down our end of the field they just capitalised. Very tough day but there will be some lessons in there for the whole team and the young guys in particular. It's important that we stick together and learn those lessons and be better next week. It's an embarrassing moment, it's a disappointing moment. We knew things would be hard at different times this year but probably not this hard." - Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo
Bulldogs: Round 18
What's Next
The Bulldogs will look to turn around a 50-16 Good Friday smashing when they face the Rabbitohs at Accor Stadium on Saturday.
The Knights have a bye in Round 19 before hosting Wests Tigers in Newcastle two days after the third Origin game.