In attacking blitz that might just be the sign of things to come, the Newcastle Knights have eased to victory in their trial match against the Cronulla Sharks, winning 32-10.
With 4,000 fans present at the game in the Upper Hunter Valley region, they were forced to wait until the 26th minute before any points were scored.
Knights hooker Issac De Gois and centre Junior Sau’u scored two tries apiece, with Akuila Uate and captain Kurt Gidley also playing well.
The match was soured however and delayed by 20 minutes, when Tye Alchin, a Knights youth player, was air-lifted to Hunter Hospital with what is believed to be a suspected spinal injury.
It was on the request that the young player be sent to the hospital as a precaution.
Rick Stone, Knights coach was pleased with his side’s performance heading into the season.
“I thought we worked pretty hard to control the game,” he said.
“One of the pleasing things was we kept control of the game when we had control.
“No injuries and a bit of continuity.”
Sharks coach Shane Flanagan conceded that his side just made too many errors, and it cost them.
“We just turned over the ball too much,” he said.
“The first 26 minutes it was a good arm wrestle.
“But then we fell back into some bad old habits, dropping the ball coming out of our own end, and they punished us with two tries.”