2007 Trial vs Penrith Panthers:

Newcastle 30 defeated Penrith 18.

Newcastle emerged victors in their first match of 2007, defeating Penrith 30-18 in extremely wet conditions in Darwin.

9000 fans turned up to see the match, and they witnessed a see-sawing encounter. Kurt Gidley opened the scoring after five minutes, and converted for a 6-0 lead to Newcastle. Penrith went to halftime with a 12-10 lead however, with tries to Paul Aiton and Trent Waterhouse outweighing a Brad Tighe touchdown.

During halftime the rain thundered down, however the standard on the field remained solid. Cory Paterson put Newcastle back in the lead after halftime, but Penrith fought back to draw level at 18 all with 15 minutes remaining.

It was the debut captain Jarrod Mullen who scored a try to land the knock-out blow though, along with a brace of tries to hooker Terence Seu Seu. Penrith had rested most of their top players for the final quarter, but star halfback and reinstated captain Craig Gower remained on the park.

Youngsters James McManus, Cory Paterson and Terence Seu Seu all impressed for the Knights, and Jarrod Mullen had a fine game, befitting his first match captaining the side. New coach Brian Smith also enjoyed a satisfying start with his new club.

What they said:

Brian Smith:
"We can't help ourselves, everyone likes to win, it feels better."

Matthew Elliott:
"We just need to work on a few things so it was good for us in that respect."
"A large part of the result was Newcastle's superior kicking game and our inability to hang onto the pill."