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Live sport on SN this weekendReece Lightning strikes Newcastle in Ben Hunt's 350th
Sam Kosack • August 24th, 2025 6:09 pm
The Brisbane Broncos have taken another step towards a top four finish defeating the Newcastle Knights 46-12 in Ben Hunt’s 350th game.
Hunt, who debuted with the Broncos in 2009, became the sixth player in rugby league history to play 350 games, following Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans, who reached the milestone yesterday.
However, it was Reece Walsh who was the star for the Broncos, lighting up McDonald Jones Stadium with a prime demonstration of the damage he can do to the top teams come finals.
Walsh finished the game with two line breaks, three line break assists, a spectacular solo try, 176 run metres, 12 tackle breaks and two try assists, including one where he handed Kobe Hetherington the ball over the try-line.
The Broncos were dominant from the kick-off, opening the scoring through Kotoni Staggs in the second minute, and ultimately piling on nine tries over the course of the game with Deine Mariner, Josiah Karapani, Payne Haas, Jordan Riki, and Gehamat Shibasaki, getting amongst the action.
It would take two attempts but ultimately Ben Hunt would also get on the board with a ceremonious conversion to go with a try assist.
The Broncos now look ahead to their final two games against the Cowboys and the Storm, sitting precariously in the top four, tied with the Sharks and one point ahead of the Panthers.
Missing Adam Reynolds, Ezra Mam, and Selwyn Cobbo, the Broncos’ trio of Hunt, Walsh and Billy Walters stepped up, leading their side to two big wins in their absence.
The Newcastle Knights struggled to contain the Broncos’ outside back, with all five clocking over 140 run metres and a line break.
Leo Thompson was strong for the Knights in his final game in front of the Newcastle faithful, with eight tackle breaks, a try, and 28 tackles in his 44-minute stint.
The loss on Old Boys Day marks the side’s seventh straight loss and means they remain only one win off the bottom of the ladder with two rounds to go.
“The scoreline doesn’t reflect the game and the moments that Newcastle had... they just couldn’t execute those plays, could’ve been a different game,” SEN League’s Adam Blair said.
“At this level, you can’t afford to not execute that at high speeds and they practised that enough.
“They’re professional athletes, they live and breathe this stuff every single day and it just shows the importance to our kids coming through that you can’t get bored of the fundamentals because in big moments and high-pressure games you have to be able to execute under pressure.”
The Knights next take on the Sharks in Cronulla, before facing the Eels in the final round.
