Marzhew fires as Knights punish Bunnies to make it seven straight
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The Knights have made it seven wins on the trot with a 29-10 victory over the Rabbitohs in front of a sell-out home crowd on Sunday.
As centre Bradman Best charged 60 metres downfield to seal the Round 25 victory and Latrell Mitchell sent to the sin bin in the 79th minute, the Knights controlled proceedings in clinical fashion while putting the Rabbitohs finals hopes in serious jeopardy.
With winger Greg Marzhew running rampant with a first half hat-trick and fullback Kalyn Ponga producing an attacking masterclass, Newcastle recorded their longest winning streak since they went all the way to win the premiership in 2001.
New spine combination Adam Clune and Ponga showed early positive signs, combining superbly on the left edge to set up Marzhew in the corner and open the scoring in the sixth minute. A wide Ponga kick left the scoreboard 4-0.
Marzhew gets a double
The Knights faithful were back on their feet just three minutes later when Ponga showed some great speed and footwork to break open up the Rabbitohs defence and hand Marzhew a double.
Ponga was again unable to convert and the score remained 8-0.
The Rabbitohs looked to open their account on two occasions in the first half however both tries were ruled out by the bunker for obstruction in the lead-up.
After laying on an early try saver, Lachie Fitzgibbon opened up another opportunity for his side, finding Ponga with an offload who once again haunted the Rabbitohs left edge before finding Marzhew in support for a halftime hattrick.
Latrell Mitchell sent to the bin
Conceding back-to-back penalties early in the second half, Newcastle handed the Rabbitohs an opportunity to make their way downfield and Damien Cook darted his way over from dummy half to open the Rabbitohs account in the 43rd minute.
Mitchell made a mess of the easy conversion and the score remained 12-4.
The Knights went further ahead with Jacob Saifiti pouncing on a Phoenix Crossland grubber like an athletic winger and Clune regathering a loose ball in the in-goal after it bounced off the referee.
Ponga converted one and missed another for a 22-4 lead.
Rabbitohs forward Shaquai Mitchell reduced the deficit in the 66th minute but South Sydney's celebrations were quickly ceased when Best scooped up a stray Mitchell pass before charging down McDonald Jones Stadium to all but seal the match 28-10.
Finishing off a fine job filling in for injured Jackson Hastings (ankle), Clune iced the victory with a field goal in the 78th minute before Mitchell was sin-binned when his elbow made contact with Tyson Frizell's head, finishing off a disappointing day out for Jason Demetriou's side.
Match: Knights v Rabbitohs
Round 25 -
home Team
Knights
7th Position
away Team
Rabbitohs
8th Position
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Match Snapshot
- Latrell Mitchell was sent to the sin bin and placed on report in the 79th minute for dangerous contact on Knights forward Tyson Frizell.
- Rabbitohs winger Taane Milne was placed on report in the 77th minute.
- Knights utility Kurt Mann was placed on report in the 33rd minute for a dangerous tackle.
- The Rabbitohs retired the No. 15 jersey for the match in memory of premiership-winner Kyle Turner.
- Kalyn Ponga controlled proceedings from fullback with two try assists, three tackle breaks, 172 run metres and 61 kick return metres.
Adam Clune Try 59th minute
- The Rabbitohs completed just 8 of 18 sets at 44 per cent in the first half as they fell to a 12-point deficit.
- Fullback Kalyn Ponga missed four from six conversions.
- The Knights have not defeated the Rabbitohs at McDonald Jones Stadium since 2011.
- Greg Marzhew had a day out in the No. 5 jersey with 240 run metres, 11 tackle breaks and three tries.
- McDonald Jones Stadium saw its biggest crowd since 2012 with 29,018 fans in attendance.
Play of the Game
While Kalyn Ponga and Greg Marzhew starred with ball in hand, the Knights efforts in defence denied the Rabbitohs several opportunities to mount a comeback. Momentum was all behind the visitors after they opened the scoring in the second half and the Knights couldn't afford to concede again but Lachie Fitzgibbon and Bradman Best showed desperation and strength to force Rabbitohs winger Taane Milne to spoil an opportunity in the 48th minute.
Bradman with the denial
What They Said
"Our right edge was a bit dodgy in that first half, we were struggling to defend and Kalyn (Ponga) was causing us a lot of problems. There's a lot of blokes out there putting a lot of effort in but were just not playing with a lot of confidence at the moment. Credit to Newcastle, they put pressure on us with their defence and made it difficult to execute because they were defending so well." - Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou.
Rabbitohs: Round 25
"It feels great, I'm really happy for the playing great, they've worked hard all year not just the last seven weeks. I know the results have fallen that way, but they've worked hard since November. I think the key is stability, we've been together now for a couple of seasons and we've had to contend with a lot over the last couple of years with injuries and I'm very fortunate we've had a group that's stayed together for a couple of months now and that stability and rhythm is showing." - Knights coach Adam O'Brien
Knights: Round 25
What's Next
The Knights enjoy another home game when they host the Sharks at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday while the Rabbitohs have a chance to recharge the batteries with a bye before their arch-rival Roosters at Accor to round out the regular season.
