Newcastle survived a second-half fade out to take advantage of Johnathan Thurston's absence, downing North Queensland 36-18 in their NRL clash at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Saturday.
The Knights led 30-6 at halftime but were outscored 12-6 in the second half as the Cowboys reversed an atrocious first half to put
some respectability into the scoreline.
In one of the worst halves of football produced by a team in recent memory, the Cowboys resembled a rabble as Newcastle piled on six first-half tries including two to winger Cooper Vuna, who finished with a hat-trick.
But the visitors fought back to 30-18 by the 61st minute to have the crowd of 14,205 shifting nervously in their seats.
Led by Willie Mason and replacement hooker Clint Amos, the Cowboys crossed through winger John Williams in the 52nd minute and makeshift five-eighth Ashley Graham in the 61st as the Knights' handling and discipline went out the window.
It took Vuna's third in the 77th minute to put the final nail in the Cowboys' coffin.
Newcastle's second half performances are now a major concern for coach Rick Stone after they lost matches after leading Melbourne, Penrith and South Sydney.
On a more positive note, captain Kurt Gidley successfully returned for his first NRL game of 2010 after a serious hamstring injury.
The Knights produced a slick first-half display but probably only needed to hang on to the ball to overcome an appalling Cowboys side missing captain Thurston (shoulder), hooker Aaron Payne (ankle) and lock Luke O'Donnell (suspension).
It was 16-0 after 12 minutes after Cameron Ciraldo, Keith Lulia and Cory Paterson had crossed and, when hooker Isaac De Gois scored a soft try from dummy-half in the 20th, a cricket score looked likely.
North Queensland pulled one back when fullback Shannon Gallant pounced on a Graham grubber in the 24th minute before Vuna scored twice in five minutes.
The Cowboys mounted a comeback when winger Williams beat some poor defence to score under the posts 12 minutes after the break.
But another opportunity two minutes later was snuffed out by a superb covering tackle from Knights five-eighth Ben Rogers.
Newcastle had also gone into the game depleted, losing lock Steve Simpson (shoulder) and halfback Scott Dureau (hip) before kick-off.
Adding to the Cowboys' woes, stand-in hooker Anthony Watts was placed on report for a seventh minute high shot on Vuna.
- AAP
League: Knights fade but down Cowboys
Newcastle survived a second-half fade out to take advantage of Johnathan Thurston's absence, downing North Queensland 36-18 in their NRL clash at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Saturday.
The Knights led 30-6 at halftime but were outscored 12-6 in the second half as the Cowboys reversed an atrocious first half to put
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
