2006 Round 25 vs Penrith Panthers:
Newcastle 40 defeated Penrith 4.
Newcastle finished the regular season on a high, with a thumping victory over Penrith - moving them ever-closer to a home final in week one of the finals series.
The match started with Penrith looking dominant, but after trailing 4-0, Newcastle put on 40 unanswered points as the ran riot. Matthew Gidley was outstanding in his farewell match, and Jarrod Mullen again led the side around like an old pro, but it was impossible to find a poor performer in the Newcastle 17.
Penrith scored the first try when Michael Gordon was put into space down the Knights left hand defence. He only had to dive across the line after good lead-up by Kiwi pair Tony Puletua and Frank Pritchard. Preston Campbell missed with his conversion, but after starting strongly, Penrith lead 4-0.
The next try came against the run of play somewhat, in the 14th minute, when Matthew Gidley crossed the stripe. Showing great strength, Gidley cast off several defenders to stretch out and plant the ball.
It was Matthew Gidley again in the 27th minute, as the Knights were beginning to dominate. The ball looked to be spreading wide, until Matthew Gidley took a Kurt Gidley pass back inside against the grain, and crossed under the posts. Reegan Tanner converted, and Newcastle lead 10-4.
Two more tries were added by the Knights in the final 10 minutes before halftime. First a lovely inside pass by Clint Newton found David Seage sprinting on to it, and he was able to charge 20 metres to score. Then a Rhys Wesser spilt bomb gave Newcastle on final chance in the half, and Luke Davico charged over in a determined run. Davico popped his shoulder out in the process, but played on. This gave Newcastle a halftime lead of 22-4.
Penrith needed to score straight after halftime to stay in the game, but it was Newcastle that took the opening points. 11 minutes into the second half, Jarrod Mullen bombed towards the diminutive Preston Campbell's wing. Campbell was outjumped by Anthony Quinn, who forced the ball.
A George Carmont break in the 62nd minute led to more points for the Knights. Carmont made a great break, but his pass to Anthony Quinn was woefully misguided. Quinn managed to pick up, stand, and offload to Jarrod Mullen, who raced 50 metres to score. Tanner, having a shocking night with the boot, missed the conversion, but Newcastle still lead 30-4.
Two tries in the final 5 minutes extended the lead for Newcastle, and broke the 40. First, after stringing passes together on the previous play, Josh Perry scored off a simple barge-over on the final tackle. Then, in the 79th minute, a brilliant Todd Lowrie pass, again on Penrith's tryline, saw George Carmont cross unopposed. Matthew Gidley attempted conversion in his final regular season game, but was off the mark, leaving the final score 40-4.
Newcastle were outstanding in defence, as well as completing their sets. If they can continue that form into the finals, with the return of Andrew Johns, they will be very hard to beat. They also gave themselves a good chance of finishing in the top four, by overtaking Manly on for and against. A loss by Manly to Melbourne in Round 26 would see them into fourth place, as would a loss by Brisbane to the Warriors.
Newcastle farewelled several players with the match: Matthew Gidley, who moves to the UK Superleague to play with St Helens; Craig Smith who retires; Anthony Quinn who moves to Melbourne; Todd Lowrie who is joining departing coach Michael Hagan at Parramatta; and popular Irishman Brian Carney, who links up with the new club, the Gold Coast Titans.
With their 24 matches of the regular season completed, Newcastle could look back on a much improved performance from 2005, and look forward eagerly to their first finals series since 2003.