Knights down Titans in Newcastle heat

A hat-trick to Fletcher Sharpe, coupled with a double to Kalyn Ponga, saw the Knights cut down the Titans on their way to a 36-14 win that keeps their finals hopes alive.

Next week's final match of the round against the Dolphins looms ahead, with the result likely to decide who plays finals this season.

In a tight opening half, skipper Ponga - who had one try to his name this season leading into this game - added two more to his collection, crossing for both his side's two tries in the first 40 to give them a 12-4 lead at the break.

Both sides could have scored many more tries each in a back-and-forth half, but their own errors and some desperate defence saw them go into halftime with a relatively low scoreline.

The Knights should have been the first on the board after unleashing some exciting attacking play from deep within their own half, but the Titans were able to hold up Greg Marzhew as he tried get over the line.

Instead, it was the visitors who crossed first with a strong individual run from Jojo Fifita rewarded with a four-pointer.

However, errors proved costly for the Titans, with a kick from Jayden Campbell that went out on the full swinging the momentum back to the home team, with Ponga running through for his first.

His second came after the Titans gave up a penalty with only a few moments left until the break, with the Knights again capitalising, with Ponga finishing what he started to score.

In the second half, the Knights started in the best possible fashion, scoring a great team try that was finished by Fletcher Sharpe after going from side-to-side to extend their lead in a game that was vital to their finals chances.

Sharpe was in again only moments later after the Titans again gifted them position after kicking out on the full from the restart.

The Knights were on a roll and punishing the left-side defence of the Titans and he had his hat-trick by the 50th minutes after planting the ball down despite a juggle on the way down for a 24-4 lead. 

For their next try, they attempted to go through via their right and Fletcher again, but the Titans were able to holt that charge, only for the ball to go out to their left-hand side with Phoenix Crossland the player to score. 

The Titans showed some fight in the later stages of the contest, with Fifita leaping up and bringing the ball down for his second try of the game, narrowing the gap to 30-8, but with just 20 minutes remaining in the match.

The Titans then decided to throw the ball around creating some line breaks and trying to shift momentum back their way, but it was too little too late after letting in four tries in 13 minutes to effectively end the game as a contest.

However, there was a nice moment for the visitors late in the game with debutant Jaylan De Groot going over under the posts for a try after following up on a Jayden Campbell break.

After being restrained relatively well by the Titans following their attacking burst, the Knights finished the match on the high with big forward Leo Thompson running straight through the slight De Groot to charge over the line and score. Ponga added the extras as the siren sounded to set up a finals shootout with the Dolphins next week.