Newcastle Maitland Region Knights have claimed their first SLE Andrew Johns Cup trophy after a hard-fought 14-10 win over a gallant Northern Rivers Titans at GIO Stadium today.
In a match where the conditions were tough and points were hard to come by for both teams with the rain tumbling down, the Knights took a slender 8-6 lead into half-time and then dug deep to survive a Titans fightback at the end.
Match: NMR Knights v NR Titans
Grand Final -
home Team
NMR Knights
away Team
NR Titans
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
“It feels surreal and I’m very excited for all the boys to finish off a good season,” Knights coach Joshua Corby said.
“They’ve been working hard and to come here is a pretty good experience for them, and to get the win just tops it off.
“We definitely played to the conditions and it might not have been that exciting for the crowd to play tough footy but it was what we needed to do and we hung on.”
Knights halfback Ty Ennis was awarded the Robert ‘Bert’ Lowrie Medal for Player of the Match after a strong performance which included setting up a crucial try for winger Chayce Afa and landing a sideline conversion to give his side some breathing space at 14-6.
The Knights started the match strongly and threatened to score on a couple of occasions, only to be denied once after some tenacious defence from the Titans while Afa was ruled to have slid into touch on a kick chase before planting the ball down.
The Titans also had their chances at the other end of the field, but were unable to convert and mount any genuine pressure.
A Titans knock-on from a scrum let the Knights off the hook 10 metres out from their own line and they compounded that mistake by conceding a penalty for tackling halfback Ty Ennis after a kick.
The Knights took advantage when Ennis passed to fullback Rico Elers who drew the defence in with a double pump before sending Tyler Donaldson over for the first try of the match. Ennis was unable to land the conversion to leave the Knights ahead 4-0.
The Knights had another chance to mount pressure after Ennis iced a 40/20 kick but he was unable to maintain possession while backing himself to score.
The mistake and a relieving penalty for the Titans saw them work their way downfield and it wasn’t long before fullback Jaylon Russell was accelerating his way across field before picking up Jay Walpole to score in the corner. Centre Parker Kemister landed the sideline conversion to put the Titans in front 6-4.
The Knights regrouped and then took the advantage into the break when five-eighth Morgan Carter sent Elers over the line to put their noses back in front 8-6.
Titans halfback Dallas Russell showed his skill when play resumed after landing a 40/20 but they were also unable to take advantage of the play with Jaylon Russell losing possession.
The Knights regrouped and then took advantage of a barnstorming run by Oliver Lawrence with Ennis launching a cross-field kick for Afa to outleap his opponent, pluck the ball out of the air and stretch out to score. Ennis landed the conversion to give the Knights a buffer at 14-6.
A heavy collision between Titans lock Mitchell Barnett and his Knights counterpart Jett Pritchard led to a break in play. The Titans regrouped with five-eighth Eden Humphreys floating a long pass over the top for Walpole to grab his second try for the game and reduce the deficit to 14-10.
The Titans had their chances as the clock wound down but the Knights defence held firm to hand the club its first title.
