Newcastle upset Wests Tigers 22-20 courtesy of last minute try to Shaun Kenny-Dowall

AN unlikely hero created a try in the final seconds for Newcastle as they scored an incredible 22-20 win over Wests Tigers in one of the games of the season.

TAMWORTH, AUSTRALIA — APRIL 21: Mitchell Pearce of the Knights celebrates with Kalyn Ponga and Nathan Ross after scoring a try during the round seven NRL match between the Wests Tigers and the Newcastle Knights at Scully Park on April 21, 2018 in Tamworth, Australia. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)

IN the end it was the unlikeliest of heroes. While the likes of Kalyn Ponga, Benji Marshall and Mitchell Pearce dominated for the bulk of the game it was left to Jamie Buhrer and Shaun Kenny-Dowall to complete a come from behind 22-20 win in the final minute of the game.

The often maligned Kenny-Dowall came through when it mattered most. He leapt high above Malakai Watene-Zelezniak to snatch a Buhrer bomb while Pearce was sidelined with a what could be a ruptured pectoral in the dying stages.

“I don’t mind having a kick at training,” Buhrer said. “I’ve got the ability to kick sometimes. I was confident in making the play. When you kick it to someone like SKD (Kenny-Dowall) you don’t have to get it too perfect he can outleap”

Knights coach Nathan said Kenny-Dowall was the “best player in the first half”.

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There is little doubt it was a match the Knights would have lost last year. But this is a whole different Newcastle team who looked to have blown a 10-0 halftime lead in front of 10,082 people at Scully Park in Tamworth.

The Knights scored five tries to three with winger Ken Sio crossing three times. After trailing at halftime, the Tigers produced what looked to have been a match winning 10 minutes when they scored 18 unanswered points.

Brown said his said were not getting the “50/50” calls from the referee.

“We don’t seem to be getting these calls,” Brown said. “We’re getting quite stiff calls consistently.

“We have come a long way. We have a bit of belief.”

Ponga’s attacking brilliance was on display early when he scooped up a decent Luke Brooks grubber only to get out of the in-goal and race 30 metres. It would not take long again for Ponga to leave his mark.

It was a back and forth clash in the country.

A catch and cut out pass by the fullback gifted Sio — who caught opposite David Nofaluma short- his first try after 21 minutes prompting Fox Sports commentator Mark Gasnier to declare Ponga was his “favourite player to watch” and that “he has it all”.

The Knights repelled three consecutive Tigers sets on their try line and were rewarded when Pearce scored a solo try after slicing through the middle of a brittle Tigers defence.

Pearce’s try happened while Marshall and hooker Jacob Liddle were sidelined for head injury assessments — with both returning to start the second half. Tigers backrower Elijah Taylor left early in the second half and did not return because of concussion.

“We were a little bit off the pace in the first half,” Tigers coach Ivan Cleary said. “Our defence wasn’t good enough. They had all the momentum through the run of the game.

“We had a couple of HIAs and things to key guys. Any opportunities we got. We couldn’t quite get it going. I was happy with the start of the second half.

“We weren’t connected as well as we have been (on our right edge).

Kenny-Dowall redeemed himself after a difficult night.

Brooks stood up to lay on the Tigers first try with a no-look pass to Michael Chee Kam who exposed a flat-footed Cogger. Marshall’s boot produced the next two tries when Kenny-Dowall looked next to no chance to take a Marshall bomb with Kevin Naiqama picking up the scraps to score.

Corey Thompson completed the scoring spree when he claimed a Marshall chip to give the Tigers an eight-point lead — and all the momentum.

But the Knights weren’t done with yet again exposing a brittle Tigers right defensive edge. A Fitzgibbon cut out pass gave Sio his second before he scored again — thanks to Ponga and Pearce combining on the short side — to have the Tigers leading by two with less than 10 minutes remaining.

With Pearce coming from the field it was left to Buhrer to lay on Kenny-Dowall’s try to snatch the victory.

NEWCASTLE 22 (K Sio 3 S Kenny-Dowall M Pearce tries K Ponga goal) bt WESTS TIGERS 20 (M Chee Kam K Naiqama C Thompson tries E Marsters 4 goals) at Scully Park. Referee: Chris Butler, Matt Noyen. Crowd: 10,082

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