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The moment that sparked Newcastleâs remarkable comeback
Nicholas Quinlan ⹠ June 6th, 2025 9:56 am
SENâs Andrew Voss and Matty Russell could hardly believe what they witnessed during Thursday nightâs match between Manly and Newcastle.
The Knights overcame a 16-point half-time deficit to win against the Sea Eagles to send the match to golden point.
From there, captain Kalyn Ponga would score a try to secure the 26-22 victory in front of the Knights fans at McDonald Jones Stadium.
The turnaround was considerable given Newcastle has struggled to score all season. The Knights are currently 17th in points scored despite having played one or in some cases two more games than the rest of the competition.
It left Russell and Voss to wonder what actually happened for the Knights to produce this result with Russell still in disbelief.
âHas there been a bigger contrast between the first and second halves by a team in terms of attack?â Russell said on SEN 1170âs Breakfast.
Voss, however, puts Newcastleâs turnaround down to a moment at the start of the second half as the Sea-Eagles tried to put the game beyond doubt.
âThey flicked a switch,â Voss explained.
âManly (were) so on top, 16-nil to start the second half and Daly Cherry-Evans pulls the trigger on a 40/20 attempt early in the count. Nails it.
âBut ball came short of the 20-metre line by deadset two centimetres. It was the right call by the touch judge but definitely didnât go.
âIn the next set, in about play three, suddenly they (Newcastle) had depth and speed and went left and Dylan Lucas on the left edge went, âOh gee, that looked goodâ.
âThen they went rightâŠand then on the third play, they score a 50 metre try.
âAnd from there, they never stopped.
âNow incredibly last night for a team that scored 26 second-half points, I think by the end of the game, they only had 11 tackles inside Manlyâs 20 all night.
âSo, all their attacking clicked from long range which was quite incredible.
âI canât think of a greater contrast.â
