The Newcastle Knights and South Sydney Rabbitohs produced an 80-point thriller on Sunday, with the Knights prevailing 42-38 at McDonald Jones Stadium. The combined scoreline is the equal third-highest in Newcastle's 39-season history and the highest-scoring game in the NRL this season.
Knights prop Cody Hopwood, 20, joked he thought he would be 'the first 20-year-old to have a heart-attack' watching from the bench during the frantic final 10 minutes. 'We started really well and then invited them back into the match in the second half, but to then hang on the way we did in the finish was really pleasing,' he said.
The match saw both sides score seven tries, with five players bagging doubles and Greg Marzhew scoring a hat-trick. The 80 points equalled the Knights' 54-26 win over Canberra in 2001. Only twice have the Knights been involved in higher-scoring games: a 70-32 win over the Raiders in 2006 (102 points) and a 60-24 win over North Queensland in 2003 (84 points).
Newcastle led 22-0 midway through the first half and 28-10 at halftime, but South Sydney fought back. Coach Justin Holbrook acknowledged his side's tendency to let leads slip, noting a similar collapse against the Roosters two weeks earlier. 'When we work that out, we'll win the comp,' he said.
The Knights average 25.8 points per game this season but concede 29.1, the third-highest in club history. They rank third in support plays (66.1 per game) but second in missed tackles (37.4). Next up is last-placed St George Illawarra on Saturday in Wollongong.
