Canterbury Bulldogs prop Aiden Tolman

The Newcastle Knights took on the Canterbury Bulldogs at McDonald Jones Stadium and looked to push for a top four spot. 

The Knights had not gone two wins in a row since round 2 and aimed to finally get it done and get back in the top 4.

For the Bulldogs, they were trying to break a 6 game losing streak.

12 minutes in, the Bulldogs got the first points.

Aiden Tolman crashed over following a grubber down the right side from Lachlan Lewis.

Nick Meaney converted and the lead was 6-0. This score remained for a very low half time score.

The Knights needed a strong second half but that’s not how they started.

Less than 3 minutes in, Raymond Faitala-Mariner powered over and got the ball down to give the Bulldogs a second try.

Jake Averillo added the 2 points to make the lead 12-0.

The Bulldogs would cross again to cement their dominance over the opening 50 minutes.

Kieran Foran put a grubber through and the knights made a mess of it.

Kalyn Ponga slipped over and Jake Averillo got to it to add a third unanswered try.

He converted it himself to make the lead 18-0.

With 20 minutes left, Hymel Hunt finally got the Knights on the board.

Ponga converted the try and the deficit was down to 18-6.

With 10 minutes left, Kurt Mann went short to Sione Mata’utia on a crash line to score.

Ponga added the 2 to make it a 1-score game.

The Knights kept pushing for a final try but they just didn’t have enough and the Bulldogs held on.

The Knights failed to break into the top 4 while the Bulldogs broke their six-game losing streak.

For a team that has yearned for a win, Bulldogs coach Steve Georgallis admits they just sang the team song straight away.

“Any type of winning feels great,” Georgallis said.

“We didn’t even talk after the game, we just went straight into the team song. That’s how happy we were.”

NRL News Player of the Game

3. Aiden Tolman

2. Bradman Best

  1. Nick Meaney
Newcastle Knights centre Bradman Best

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