2006 Round 4 vs Warriors:
Warriors 26 defeated Newcastle 22.
Just a week after a red-hot performance against the Bulldogs, all Newcastle's old problems came back to haunt them, as the Warriors scored their second win and reached 0 points for 2006. Andrew Johns was a late withdrawal with a neck injury, and Newcastle went from an at-times brilliant performance the week before, to looking lost on attack and not as solid defensively.
It all started according to plan, when after a penalty gave them early field position, Todd Lowrie gave a pass to George Carmont, who displayed beautiful footwork to get into space. He found Lowrie with the inside pass, and Lowrie was able to cross, giving the Knights a 6 point lead in the 5th minute.
Newcastle backed it up again in the 14th minute. Kurt Gidley had had several kicks charged down already, but from 40 metres out he hoisted a bomb that found the in-goal. Swirling in the wind, Todd Byrne could not regather the kick, and Matthew Gidley was there to pounce. Kurt Gidley missed the conversion, and the score was 10-0.
The Warriors had the opportunity to apply some pressure of their own in the 20th minute, but instead took the kick for goal from a penalty. Not long later, with the Warriors hot on attack, they found Evarn Tuimavave on the charge, and he crossed from short range to reduce the deficit to 2 points.
The Warriors broke the Knights defence again just before halftime. A regulation spread of the ball on their own 40 metre line found an overlap, and Manu Vatuvei raced nearly 70 metres, beating the tackle of Jarrod Mullen, to score. After solid defence all half, and looking likely to score themselves minutes earlier, it was an almost unexpected response by the Warriors. Tony Martin converted, and the decisive blow left the Warriors with a 14-10 halftime lead.
2 minutes into the second half the Warriors scored again, and suddenly the game had a totally different complexion. On his own 40-metre line replacement forward Evarn Tuimavave showed an astounding step to half-break a tackle. He gave the ball to Brent Webb, who drew the fullback and passed to Grant Rovelli who was left with an unopposed 30 metre run to the line. The Martin conversion from straight in front was successful, and the Warriors now lead 20-10.
Newcastle hit back thanks to some rare second half field position. Good runs by Craig Smith then Danny Buderus saw the Knights camped - and Kurt Gidley was able to give a short pass to Steve Simpson who crashed over. It took only 3 minutes for the Warriors to conjure up a reply though. A Danny Buderus knock-on from the next set of six gave them the chance, and right on the line they were good enough to capitalise. Grant Rovelli put a grubber through and Nathan Fien pounced in the in-goal to touch down. The try ruling by referee Russell Smith drew the ire of the large crowd, but replays showed Fien was well onside.
The final scoring play of the day took place in the 61st minute. Inside the 20, pressure was yet again put on Kurt Gidley's kick. He somehow managed to get one away, and whilst not being the most attractive kick ever seen at EnergyAustralia Stadium, it did bobble in the in-goal, allowing Matthew Gidley to force the ball for the second time in the game. The conversion made the score 26-22 to the Warriors and that was how it stayed. Newcastle applied plenty of pressure in the final 20 minutes, but lacked direction and often the final pass just didn't go to hand.
So the Knights undefeated 2006 record came to an end on home soil, and the Warriors overcame their 4 point penalty for salary cap cheating to reach 0 points. Newcastle were not terrible, but lacked a little direction and made far too many errors. Kurt Gidley's kicking game was under constant pressure, repeatedly giving the Warriors prime field position. The tactic of starting with Todd Lowrie and leaving Jarrod Mullen on the bench for 30 minutes was an odd one which did not pay off. The Warriors gained confidence as the match wore on, and grafted their way (with the odd long-range try!) to a rare win in Newcastle, only their second in 13 years.
What they said:
Michael Hagan:
"[On the Knights record sans-Andrew Johns] You can't defend it on the back of that. We had an opportunity today and we knew that was on the cards. We didn't take the opportunity, so you have to cop it when it comes, then, don't you."
"I think if we'd played as badly with the football with him in the team, I don't know that things would have been too much different to be honest. Too many errors down our own end."
Danny Buderus:
"If Joey had played and we dropped that much ball, we still might have found ourselves in that situation. He can't catch the ball and play the ball for everyone. It's a 17-man game and we found ourselves in the situation where we had to panic for the last 20 minutes."
Ivan Cleary:
"We wanted to get them into a game. Get them into an arm wrestle. We might have a chance that way."