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Sport | NRL

Warriors back to winning ways after thriller in Newcastle

The Warriors have beaten the Knights 24-20 in an entertaining NRL encounter tonight.

A try by Sam Lisone five minutes from full-time was the crucial score, the big prop showing fantastic skill to pick up a kick by Blake Green that had ricocheted off the legs of Knights fullback Connor Watson. The subsequent conversion meant the Warriors led by a try for the rest of the game, in which they had to defend their line repeatedly.

Earlier, it looked as though the Knights were on course to grind out a win without their big name stars. The home side was missing Mitchell Pierce, Kayln Ponga and David Klemmer, but led 12-2 at halftime thanks to tries by Sione Mata’utia and Lachlan Fitzgibbon.

However, the Warriors made a perfect start to the second half, with Peta Hiku crossing to close up the gap. Ken Maumalo then bagged a double to put the Warriors in front.

It was about then that the bunker and referees started to heavily influence the game, with a seemingly legitimate try to David Fusitu’a disallowed after only one view.

Mata’utia then got his second, but mainly through a big hole opened up due to Hiku being knocked out in back play. The referees opted to let play continue, despite Hiku clearly struggling to regain his feet after a head clash.

Then came Lisone’s big moment, and the Warriors held off a series of efforts by the Knights to cross their line.

The result moves the Warriors up to 10th on the NRL ladder, just two points outside the top eight.