A Greg Marzhew hat-trick led the Knights to a gutsy 28-18 win over the Sea Eagles in front of home fans on Sunday afternoon.
A Manly side missing skipper Daly Cherry-Evans and the Trbojevic trio stood tall but the Knights' left-side proved too strong for the visitors, with Jackson Hastings combining surperbly with Kalyn Ponga, Bradman Best and Marzhew to produce an attacking masterclass at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Overlooked for State of Origin selection for the first time since 2015, Ponga played his first game at fullback since Round 19 last season and was involved from the start of the Round 13 clash.
After an offside Manly penalty, Knights had all the momentum in attack, but it was Josh Schuster who turned the tides, reading a Ponga pass perfectly with an intercept before finding winger Rueben Garrick in support to open the scoring.
Schuster continued to haunt the home side with a perfectly weighted kick to the in goal mounting more pressure on the Knights and a short drop out penalty handed Manly the chance to kick for another two points to stretch their lead to eight.
Clever kick from Schuster
On the attack, Knights had repeated opportunities in their red zone but failed to capitalise with star back-rower Haumole Olakau'atu producing two try saving tackles.
But come the 30th minute and Newcastle hit back with two tries in two minutes.
It was Best who had his hands in both tries, first finishing off a Hastings cutout pass to find Marzhew in the corner and then supporting a Tyson Gamble line break to cross the line for his own to put the Knights in front by four.
But it was the visitors who went into the break with the lead after a pinpoint Schuster kick landed in front of the posts before finding Lachlan Croker who pounced on the loose ball to score.
Croker stays alive and is rewarded
Ten minutes into the second half and Knights repeated their first half ways, scoring two tries back-to-back with Marzhew finishing off both right-edge raids to put the home side in front 18-14.
Moments after producing a try-saving tackle on Best, Manly speedster Jason Saab stole the Sea-Eagles' third intercept of the day, plucking a Hastings long ball out of thin air to run the field and put Manly back in the game. A wide conversion by Garrick left the scores locked 18-18 with 20 to play.
Saab comes up with an amazing try saver
Come the 67th minute and Phoenix Crossland was in the right place at the right time when Manly stripped the ball from Jack Hetherington over the line and the hooker dived on the loose ball to regain a six-point lead.
But it was Knights winger Dom Young who sealed the Round 13 win in front of the McDonald Jones faithful, running around the Manly defence to stream down the field and put the game out of reach for Anthony Seibold's side.
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Match Snapshot
- Knights forward Lachie Fitzgibbon's night ended when he succumbed to a calf injury early in the second half.
- Manly centre Tolutau Koula was sin binned in the 65th minute for a dangerous high tackle on Knights fullback Kalyn Ponga.
- Knights centre Bradman Best was immense in the first 40 minutes, racking a try, a try assist, a line break and 99 run metres.
- The Knights had all attack in the first half with 60 per cent possession and 18 tackle breaks compared to Manly's eight but the visitors still led at the break.
- Knights prop Daniel Saifiti made his 150th NRL appearance.
Saab comes up with an amazing try saver
- After signing with the Sea-Eagles mid-week Jake Arthur made his club debut when he entered the fray in the second-half.
- The Knights have won four of their past five games at McDonald Jones Stadium.
- Knights winger Greg Marzhew has scored eight tries in his past five games at McDonald Jones Stadium.
- Knights interchange Lachie Miller did not come onto the field for the entire match.
Play of the Game
The 51st minute of the match saw blockbusting winger Greg Marzhew's power and pace on display when the barnstorming winger crossed for his third try of the match and 10th of the season. The Knights' left edge was firing at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday afternoon and Marzhew finished off a night out in the red and blue when he raced down the line and was brought down by Manly fullback Kaeo Weekes before springing back to his feet to seal a Round 13 hattrick. Marzhew's performance, consisting of 11 tackle breaks, three line breaks and 172 run metres capped off the 26-year-old's superb start to the season.
Marzhew makes it three
What They Said
"I thought we were really brave today. We had a whole heap of players missing but what we spoke about before the game was being in the contest with 20 to go and we were. We just weren't good enough to execute at the end of the game. But I'm super proud of the guys today, we were brave, I think we had about six try saving tackles. we didn't have much footy and we weren't great with our attention to detail but we were just brave." - Manly coach Anthony Seibold
Sea Eagles: Round 13
"\I thought Kalyn was dangerous, every time he got the ball he looked like dangerous and he didn't have to make as many tackles this week. I don't have any evidence of him defending in the middle and the game was never completely comfortable until Dom went the length. If you're constantly putting guys out to play who don't have a good feel for the game it can work against you. We've got a bye now so I might be able to play him (Lachie Miller) at nine, 13 and a little bit in the halves this week and he's open to all of that. We just need to get some evidence out there." - Knights coach Adam O'Brien
"I felt comfortable out the back, obviously it's quite natural back there. The main point was to get the win, it wasn't pretty but I thought we finished the game quite well. I used my eyes a lot more at the back and felt a little bit freer in that sense." - Knights fullback Kalyn Ponga
Knights: Round 13
What's Next
Both sides will enjoy a bye in Origin I week, before returning to action in Round 15. The Sea Eagles play host to the Dolphins at 4 Pines Park, while the Knights head to Brisbane to take on the Broncos.