Balmain Tigers defeat Newcastle Knights 18-8 in Harold Matthews Cup (NSWRL Junior Reps )

In a tights tussle in the wet it was the Balmain Tigers that prevailed over the Newcastle Knights in the Harold Matthews Cup clash at Leichhardt Oval. WATCH THE REPLAY.

Balmain bounced back from a heartbreaking two-point defeat to the Bulldogs in round 3 of the Harold Matthews Cup to down a gutsy Knights outfit 18 to 8 at a rain-soaked Leichhardt Oval.

The Tigers pushed out to a 8-4 half time lead thanks to tries from centre Angus Grey and fullback Cameron Kanaan, while Newcastle’s try came from winger Tully Wholert.

The sides ground it out in the opening stages of the second half before Balmain were able to get a spell of possession on Newcastle’s line. Kanaan made the most of the field position with a smart dart at the line to score his fourth try of the season and open up a 10-point lead.

WATCH THE REPLAY IN THE PLAYER ABOVE

Tigers fullback Cameron Kanaan after scoring a try during the Balmain Tigers v Newcastle Knights NSWRL Junior Rep Harold Matts Game at Leichhardt Ova. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Mark O’Meley’s Knights found a way back into the match with 10 minutes on the clock with no. 3 Connor Votano crashing over, but the Tigers managed to round out the win with a late try through captain Keenan Lawandos - Balmain winning 18-8.

Tigers coach Chris Crotty said his rookie charges were able to execute a straightforward strategy to get the two points.

“It’s wet-weather footy so we knew it was going to be pretty simple,” he said.

“Newcastle are a good side and we knew this weather was going to bring them closer to us so we had some good tactics.

“Both sides were pretty good [with their ball handling] then we both had a 5-10 minute period where we went set for set, we dropped and then they dropped, but they’re 16-year-old kids and once we got back to our game plan we looked better and we were able to force some errors.”

Crotty sung the praises of Kanaan who, as well as scoring a matchwinning double, was strong under the high ball.

“That was big, we knew if we minimised our errors and held onto the ball we would be okay,” Crotty said.

“Young Cameron was really good, he’s getting better and better every week, he’s one of the leaders in our side.

“I also liked Alex Conti our half, we gave him a simple game plan, it wasn’t going to be about big plays today.

“He kicked third and fourth tackle and got some repeat sets so from a game management perspective for a young kid he handled that really well.”

Balmain will be aiming for their third win of the season when they face the Rabbitohs in round 5, while the Knights will trek to Cabramatta to take on the Eels.