NRL 2024: Newcastle Knights win 20-14 over Wests Tigers, Bradman Best puts up hand for Origin recall
With the NSW selection race blown wide open, Knights star Bradman Best put his hand up for another call up, laying on a clinic for the Knights and signalling his intent to Michael Maguire.
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NSW coach Michael Maguire has had little to smile about in the past few days as some of his stars were dropping out of Origin contention at an express rate. But if he was sitting at home watching his former club Wests Tigers play he would have been slightly relieved to see the form of Bradman Best.
With Tom Trbojevic’s Origin series ending hamstring injury, the battle to partner Stephen Crichton at centre is wide open. He is locked in a battle with Latrell Mitchell, Jesse Ramien and Kotoni Staggs to take on Queensland next month.
Best burst through the gates with a blockbuster showing during Newcastle’s 20-14 win against the Tigers in Tamworth.
He terrorised the Tigers and took full advantage of a rejigged right edge in front of him. The Tigers were forced to mix and match that side of the field after losing centre Starford To’a in the early minutes. John Bateman filled in but he failed to return after halftime because of a pectoral injury. If it wasn’t To’a, it was Jayden Sullivan, Brent Naden or Samuela Fainu who all at times came up against Best one-on-one. Best had their measure.
“Injuries happen but it’s up to me and my edge to take advantage of that,” Best said. “ A bit of early ball was good.
“I want that early ball every week but you don’t get that at NRL level every week.”
He ran for more than 200 metres, scored a try and laid on another with his mix of speed and strength making him near impossible to handle.
Best had a taste of Origin last year playing in the final game. He impressed in that showing but after a slow start to the season he has again catapulted himself into Origin contention.
“Origin is a goal,” Best said. “It is the pinnacle of rugby league. I loved being in that arena last year. I have to keep playing consistent footy and we will see what happens.”
Knights veteran centre Dane Gagai praised Best.
“He is one of those players that can create something out of nothing,” Gagai said.
MATCH REPORT – KNIGHTS VS TIGERS
Newcastle have secured their third win on the trot without skipper Kalyn Ponga, toppling the Tigers 20-14 in a dour clash in a torrential Tamworth.
After being essentially written off following an injury to Ponga just under a month ago, the Knights have discovered a new resolve in defence, conceding just 36 points in three weeks.
It looked like Benji Marshall’s men would open the scoring after a deft grubber from Jayden Sullivan, only for former Knight Starford To’a to tear his hamstring within arm’s length of the football.
Despite losing their centre, it would be Sullivan in the thick of it to set up the opener in Tamworth, stepping off his left before throwing a brilliant offload to Isaiah Papali’i for the opener.
However it proved to be the start and finish of the side’s first-half scoring, the tables turning 13 minutes out from halftime after a professional foul from Jahream Bula saw the custodian in the bin, and Greg Marzhew crossing for the Knights’ first a minute later.
The Tigers were lucky not to lose a man to the bin after what seemed an intentional trip from Papali’i close to their own goal-line.
“That one should’ve been in the bin. That was a professional foul because he was only six metres out. That should’ve been a bin situation,” Greg Alexander said during Fox Sports commentary.
The back-to-back wooden spooners would manage to hold Newcastle out for the remaining of Bula’s binning, only to concede on the stroke of halftime to hand the Knights the lead. It was the recently re-signed Dane Gagai who turned creator, putting in an inch-perfect grubber for Enari Tuala to secure the slender 8-6 lead.
The siren proved a relief for the drenched country fans, however proved catastrophic for both clubs after Newcastle lost Tyson Gamble to a knee injury, and Wests missing John Bateman to a pec issue.
“There’s a break in the foot somewhere (for Tyson Gamble), another spine player down for us.
“We’ll get Cogs (Jack Cogger) in and we’ll go again,” O’Brien said post-match.
It would take just minutes into the second stanza for the depleted Tigers to crack, after Marzhew managed to produce the play of the day for the red-and-blue outfit.
The hulking winger picked up an Api Koroisau kick in his own in-goal, running into the field of play and drawing Staines before sending Bradman Best down the sideline, the centre nearly burning Bula before finding Armstrong on the inside for a 105-metre classic.
It would be an unlikely day out for Isaiah Papali’i who scored his second minutes later off another Sullivan pass to keep the side alive, only for Bradman Best to extend Newcastle’s lead to ten with 15 minutes left to play.
Despite snaring the two-try lead, the Knights would lose Artmstrong to a HIA before Daniel Saifiti left his potential Origin return in jeopardy after being sin-binned for a shoulder charge to Lachlan Galvin’s head in the final ten minutes.
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The front-rower had another strong showing before his binning, with a number of charges catching the eye of former Blues’ selector Greg Alexander.
“If Daniel Saifiti ran like that every time, he could be the best prop in the game.”
Head coach Adam O’Brien has impressed by the side’s defence in particular, holding the Warriors to a single try last week, and the Tigers to two in 79 minutes against the Tigers.
“Other than the one game, we haven’t had a lot of tries scored against us.
“Especially the last month, we’ve been gritty,” O’Brien said during the post-match press conference,
The 12-men Knights would hang on for the 20-14 victory, despite a last-minute try to Brent Naden, securing their third win in drizzly Tamworth from five starts, and more importantly, keeping their top-eight hopes alive.
WOUNDED WESTS REFUSE TO BACK DOWN
It was a brave effort from the Concord-based club, losing both Starford To’a and John Bateman in the opening half, yet still managed to stay in the contest and fight for the result.
Bateman shifted into the three-quarter line to cover To’a, only for the Englishman to succumb to a pec injury, leaving a left-edge combination of Samuela Fainu and Justin Olam for the remainder of the clash.
It’s a testament to the grit Marshall has instilled in the outfit since taking the reins, with the Tigers a certainty to fold in the same position 12 months ago.
KNIGHTS SPINE CURSE CONTINUES
While it was the Tigers who suffered the majority of the casualty ward entries, Newcastle had issues of their own after losing Tyson Gamble to a ‘serious foot injury’.
It was just the fifth time in ten rounds that the Knights have taken the same starting spine into the following clash, a number that won’t grow at Magic Round after losing Gamble.
“There’s a break in the foot somewhere, another spine player down for us.
“We’ll get Cogs (Jack Cogger) in and we’ll go again,” O’Brien said post-match.
It opens the door for Jack Cogger to return to the side and partner Jackson Hastings in the halves for next weekend’s clash with the Gold Coast at Suncorp Stadium.
BRADMAN THE BEST CANDIDATE FOR BLUES
Thursday night’s injury to Tom Trbojevic seemingly opened the door for bolter Jesse Ramien to make his New South Wales debut, only for Bradman Best to produce his best game of 2024 just a fortnight out from selection.
The hard-running centre had four linebreaks, which included a long break to send David Armstrong in, before scoring a strong try of his own to seal the result.
Head coach Adam O’Brien was short and sweet in his assessment of the centre’s game.
“It was a bloody good game from him. He was hands down our best player today.”
The local junior scored a double in his Blues debut in Game III last year, and even with the likes of Ramien, Stephen Crichton and more breathing down his neck, Best is hitting the straps at the perfect time.
Originally published as NRL 2024: Newcastle Knights win 20-14 over Wests Tigers, Bradman Best puts up hand for Origin recall
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