2007 Round 9 vs Warriors:
Newcastle 24 defeated Warriors 18.
Newcastle produced one of the great comebacks to put EnergyAustralia Stadium in raptures, in their round nine clash against the Warriors. The Knights were down by 12 points with 12 minutes to go, but produced three converted tries to overwhelm the New Zealand-based side.
The Warriors got off to a good start with two tries in the first 20 minutes. First Ruben Wiki crossed easily from close range in the 13th minute, then Jerome Ropati raced 90 metres in the 20th minute, after getting a lucky bounce off a Riley Brown grubber.
Newcastle began the fightback in the 30th minute, when Steve Simpson crossed, thanks to a brilliant Riley Brown offload close to the line. But the Warriors hit back soon after halftime when Nathan Fien regathered his own grubber to score. Fien definitely held back Clint Newton, as well as forced the ball after Newton did, but to everyone's amazement, the try was awarded by the video referee Chris Ward.
Newcastle gradually wore down the Warriors, and began their fightback from 12 points down with 12 minutes to go. Feeding a scrum on the Warriors 10 metre line, Kurt Gidley received the ball from first receiver, and forced his way across the line with an evasive run. Sensing that the Warriors were on the ropes, Newcastle threw everything at the Warriors, and found another crack when Gidley crossed again in the 75th minute. Kurt Gidley got the ball at close range and somehow forced his way across the line in an exceptional run. His conversion made the scores 18 all.
Once again finding themselves in good position, Newcastle may have been thinking of a fieldgoal with two minutes left, but the knock-out punch was on the cards. Danny Buderus took a shot from dummy-half, then from the next play Adam Woolnough threw a three man cut-out pass to the blindside from dummy-half, putting Adam MacDougall across without a hand being laid on him.
The entire side played well, but it was hard to go past Kurt Gidley as the man of the match. He almost dragged the Knights back into the game single-handedly, and in doing so guaranteed himself at least a spot on the bench for New South Wales in the first State of Origin clash. Jarrod Mullen was also mentioned as a likely contender for that side. Then win was particularly important for the Knights, with a bye next week. It gave them a commendable 5-4 winning record after the opening ten rounds.
What they said:
Brian Smith:
[On Kurt Gidley's origin chances] "I was speaking to Andrew [Johns] downstairs and we were both just shaking our heads. That was the first thing Andrew said: 'What about Kurt Gidley?' All season long, he's been fantastic. He's been strong and consistent and versatile. He's at the height of his powers. He deserves selection, and I've told him so."
[On the Warriors] "We always believed that if we stuck with them, we would get them in the end."
"I thought we beat a team that cut their own throats and gave us a chance by not playing enough footy at us when they had an unbelievable amount of good field position."
Danny Buderus:
[On Kurt Gidley's origin chances] "He wouldn't let anyone down. Kurt couldn't do any more to get his hands on a Blues jersey. He can play anywhere and play that position as good as anyone ... a bench position would be perfect."
"He can't do any more to be in a rep jumper, but I don't think it would be fair on Kurt (to play him at five-eighth)."
[On Jarrod Mullen's origin chances] "He's still learning, but he is fresh, quick and kicks well and he wouldn't let anyone down. It just depends on what direction the selectors want to take."
Steve Simpson:
[On Jarrod Mullen's origin chances] "If the selectors decide to blood him, as young as he is, he'd go great. He's got a level head."
Jarrod Mullen:
[On his origin chances] "I just went out there and tried to play my natural game."
Ivan Cleary:
"I was worried in the second half because I thought we weren't doing enough with the ball. Our kicking game was average and we weren't putting them under enough pressure. They got the ball and had nothing to lose, Gidley's got us with some good footwork against tired bodies. That's what happens. It's disappointing but a bit of a lesson for us as well."