Newcastle Knights’ fairytale runs out of steam as Sydney Roosters too strong
Opinion
If you told any rugby league fan in March that the Knights, wooden-spooners last season, would be up by 12 points in this year’s grand final, they would have laughed at you.
Is it worse to not be in the contest at all, like Parramatta against Penrith in 2022, or lead by two converted tries and then lose the decider by a solitary point?
You will have to ask the Newcastle players, whose rags-to-riches story missed out on its happy ending on Sunday evening as the Roosters secured a 19-18 victory.
The Newcastle spirit, cited so often this week, took them so close to the ultimate prize. In the end, a Daly Cherry-Evans field goal 10 minutes from the death was all that separated them from the premiership.
As Roosters players sprinted into the middle of Accor Stadium, toasting their first title since 2019, dejected Knights players slumped on the turf.
Newcastle were pinned in their own half for the majority of the match, and it was emblematic of their fighting season. They were always going to have to do it the hard way and were worn down by the Roosters’ completion rate (90 per cent) and stabbed in the heart by Mark Nawaqanitawase’s terrific second try in the right corner in the 59th minute.
Nawaqanitawase’s last game in the NRL – for now – was phenomenal. In two seasons, he has elevated his status to superstardom, with rugby league in disbelief at his looming departure for Japanese rugby.
All square with 26 minutes to go is a broadcaster’s dream, but was a nightmare for Novocastrian heart rates. The makings of one of the great rugby league tales was in motion. Adversity, underdogs and battlers punching above their weight are intoxicating for neutrals. Newcastle had it all.
Saturday’s horrific car accident in Newcastle had added a sombre element to the narrative. A city that prides itself on producing hard-working people hadn’t come together like this since the Knights’ last grand final in 2001.
There was an unmistakable energy around Newcastle this week and the players leant into it. But vibes and houses painted red and blue don’t win grand finals.
Last to first is the stuff reserved for sporting movies. Even then, it would be a script almost too far-fetched to believe. The Roosters showed why with a meticulous game plan executed perfectly by its senior players.
Andrew Johns, his heart with Newcastle but his head with the Roosters, said during the week the boys from Bondi should win by 30 points. Even he knew it was going to be a monumental task for his beloved Knights to keep riding the emotional wave they had surfed deep into September.
A Roosters ambush, on the same turf onto which players had sprinkled sand from Bondi Beach on Saturday, never eventuated as Newcastle weathered the storm and defended their line with vigour.
Referee Adam Gee raised eyebrows when he allowed Kalyn Ponga to stay on the field after a high shot on Victor Radley. How the Knights captain escaped the sin bin for direct contact with the head was mystifying.
James Tedesco was immense with ball in hand, Cherry-Evans got his fairytale ending, while Spencer Leniu took his angry pills and came good when it mattered on the grand stage.
When Ponga crossed for his length-of-the-field try in the 29th minute, the Knights were suddenly 12-0 up. “I could imagine Newcastle is rocking,” Johns said in commentary.
But there will be no limousine back to the Hunter for Joey this time. No “kidnapping” of Silverchair’s Daniel Johns to get the party started like in 1997.
New York is the city that never sleeps, but Newcastle was primed to give the Big Apple a run for its money this week. The Knights faithful will get to bed eventually.
But the nightmare of losing a grand final after being 12-0 up will haunt them for a long time. Let’s hope it’s not another 25 years before they’re back.
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Tom Decent is the chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.