Penrith Panthers have suffered their first loss of the Jersey Flegg season as the Knights cruised to a 24-6 victory at BlueBet Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
With multiple late changes to the side, the Panthers were unable to find their rhythm throughout the Round 3 clash.
With rain tumbling down at BlueBet Stadium, it was a sloppy opening 15 minutes with multiple loose carries dominating the game with no points scored in the early stages.
However, the Knights hit their stride and took control of the game with three quick tries in the space of eight minutes.
The first four-pointer of the afternoon went to winger Kodi Crowther, who crossed down the left touchline, however halfback Max Buderus missed the conversion.
The away side extended their advantage to 10 points after 19 minutes when prop Cooper Jenkins barged his way over the line under the posts for the second try of the afternoon, and Buderus had no problems adding the extra two points.
The scoring continued for the Knights when centre James Johnson ran through a gaping hole off the back off a slick scrum play to give his side a 16-0 lead after 23 minutes.
HALF-TIME: KNIGHTS 16 – PANTHERS 0
The Panthers came out of the sheds after half-time with plenty of determination to turn things after a disappointing 35 minutes.
Following multiple sets of possession, the Panthers opened their account for the afternoon when hooker Briath Alexander, who shifted from the halves before the match, darted from dummy-half to score. William Fakatoumafi landed the conversion to close Newcastle’s lead to 10.
Although the Panthers were charging home in the second half, Knights prop Jenkins managed to crash over for his second try of the afternoon to secure the win for the visitors.
FULL-TIME: KNIGHTS 24 – PANTHERS 6
