Match Details
Match Date	26th Apr, 2014
Opponent	Newcastle
Result	Win 16-12
Coach	Des Hasler
Captain	Michael Ennis
Venue	Homebush (ANZ Stadium)
Crowd	15,286
Referee	Henry Perenara Alan Shortall

The sight of Alex McKinnon at ANZ Stadium, willing on his teammates, was about as uplifting a scene as there will be in the NRL this season, but the courageous Knight’s inspiration wasn’t quite enough to lift Newcastle to victory over the tabletopping Bulldogs..

McKinnon, who is undergoing rehabilitation from a serious neck injury, was in the changeroom before the game and later watched on in the coaches’ box, from where a shot of him on the big screen received warm and unanimous applause from the 15,286-strong crowd.

The Knights produced an effort befitting of McKinnon’s presence, but were unable to hold on against the Bulldogs who conjured yet another close win after their unprecedented run of three consecutive one-point victories in the previous three rounds.

Despite conceding an early try and a six-pointer on the stroke of half-time, the Knights mustered a comeback from 10-4 down at the break to lead 12-10 with less than half an hour to go when bench secondrower Robbie Rochow added to James McManus’s first half try.

Their defensive pressure kept the Bulldogs under the pump but the critical moment came with 10 minutes remaining when a Trent Hodkinson kick was tapped back by Corey Thompson in-goal for Aiden Tolman to score the matchwinner.

The Knights had more possession, more completed sets, gained more metres and missed 13 fewer tackles than their opponents. Yet Canterbury, led by a 47-tackle effort by hooker Michael Ennis, showed enough composure to secure another tight win.

The Bulldogs ruled the early exchanges but their lead came amid conjecture after a knock-on awarded against them by the on-field referees around the Knights’ 20-metre line was overruled by video referees Bernard Sutton and Andrew Dunemann. From the ensuing attacking phase, Josh Reynolds leapt spectacularly to grab a Hodkinson kick, offloaded smartly and Mitch Brown ended up crashing over out wide.

The Knights had reason to feel aggrieved but channelled their fury into enthusiasm. A period of sustained defensive pressure lifted their confidence and they took a risk when they worked upfield, running on the fifth tackle for McManus to ground the ball in the corner despite the attention of three defenders.

A drawn scoreboard might have been a fair outcome, but the Bulldogs grabbed the advantage with a six-pointer with two minutes left before the break. Following a mistake by Beau Scott, Canterbury’s power forwards came running hard and fast from deep, with Tony Williams barging through Jarrod Mullen and offloading to Sam Kasiano for a try next to the posts.

It seemed the boost Canterbury needed and they came close to scoring at the start of the second half, but for Corey Thompson’s grounding catching a bit of sideline. However, as they did earlier, Newcastle bit back, chancing their arm again with Tyrone Roberts flick-passing for Rochow to burrow over for a converted to try to make it 10-10. A penalty goal with 27 minutes remaining put the Knights ahead for the first time, but Tolman’s late try snatched back the lead.

Desperation football from both sides late in the match nearly flared into fisticuffs, but there was no change to the score.

Source: The Sun Herald

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