Rugby League: Knights home laughing despite second-half threat from Storm

The Canberra Raiders and Brisbane Broncos remained the only unbeaten teams after fourth-round National Rugby League matches at the weekend, while the resurgent Newcastle Knights bounced back from two losses.

The Raiders came from a 16-point deficit and the loss of two key players to beat the Penrith Panthers 40-28, but the Broncos made plenty of errors in accounting for the North Queensland Cowboys 32-24.

But it was at the Knights' home ground, EnergyAustralia Stadium, where all the fun was, with the hosts winning 44-28.

The Knights skipped away to a 34-0 lead by halftime, had a couple of laughs at halftime, extended their margin by 10 more points early in the second half and then went off the boil as the Storm racked up 28 unanswered points.

Newcastle prop Matt Parsons said some of the Knights had been smiling a bit too much at halftime.

"I don't think it's good enough for any team, let alone us at home. There were a couple of giggles in the sheds at halftime, but we don't think for one minute we're on the pace for the Bulldogs next week. We've got a lot of work to do."

But local fans were nevertheless able to enjoy the talents of Andrew Johns, who set up four tries with his nifty kicks and signalled a return to form after some indifferent displays in the past fortnight.

The Raiders-Panthers match at Penrith Stadium had plenty of drama and excitement, with the Raiders storming home after being down 16 points early in the second half to win by 12.

The Raiders scored five tries in the last 34 minutes.

The bad news for the Raiders was that New Zealand test forward Ruben Wiki was placed on report for a high tackle on Penrith prop Joel Clinton in the 17th minute.

They also lost Simon Woolford and Joel Monaghan to injuries.

The Broncos were too strong at Townsville, but the Cowboys took heart from a committed performance and will win some games if they can reduce their errors.

The Canterbury Bulldogs gave every indication that they will be involved at finals time when they outmuscled the Parramatta Eels 30-10 at Belmore.

It was a five-tries-to-two thumping and reminiscent of the form the Bulldogs showed before they were effectively expelled from the competition last year in the salary cap scandal.

Wests Tigers were not expected to beat the Manly Sea Eagles at Brookvale Open but they thumped them 38-12.

The Tigers showed plenty of heart on the back of a hiding from the Bulldogs last weekend, but Manly were dismal on their home ground and have a tough job in resurrecting their season.

The Sydney Roosters were too strong for a disappointing Cronulla at Toyota Park, winning 40-20.

- NZPA

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