New faces look good but bad old habits cost Wests Tigers as Newcastle Knights win

With thirty minutes left on the clock the Wests Tigers looked to have an upset victory in their grasp only to revert to bad old habits.

It was a case of so close, yet so far for the poor Tigers.

After leading for 60 minutes of their season opener against Newcastle, a late try to winger Greg Marzhew consigned Benji Marshall’s men to a 10-8 loss and extended their opening-match losing streak to five years on the bounce.

Inspired by Roosters discard Terrell May, Wests had grafted their way to an 8-0 lead heading into the final 30 minutes of the match, and looked set to seal an upset win. Up until this point, Newcastle had been insipid, gifting the home side ample possession with a series of elementary errors.

Then the tide started to turn. Fletcher Sharpe got the Knights on the board in the 51st minute when he capitalised on an exceptional 30-metre run from Dylan Lucas to score under the posts. Suddenly Newcastle had some wind in their sails.

New recruit Terrell May was immense for the Wests Tigers. Picture: Getty Images

With the Tigers now committing the errors, the Knights began to get some field position. With Wests desperately clinging to an 8-6 advantage and the Knights on the charge, Bradman Best threw a wild offload that went behind the two support men on his outside. Enter Marzhew, who back-tracked, picked up the ball one-handed, and pivoted, before scoring in the corner, narrowly evading the touchline in the process.

“It’s good to get the two points and get some lessons, we can play better than that,” Knights coach Adam O’Brien said post-match.

“[But] You make your own luck. We worked hard in the second half.

“There were some individual moments that pulled us out of it. . . we could have easily lost that game.”

It was a cruel blow for the Tigers, who had shown great resilience to repel multiple attacking raids and had even earned a standing ovation from the Campbelltown crowd after holding the opposition scoreless during the opening half.

“I thought we should have won,” Marshall said post-match.

“We’re disappointed with the result but also proud of some of the things we can take away from that game.

“I thought the energy with our defence was fairly good.

“I thought we controlled the game for most parts of it and then we let ourselves down with a few things.

“But all-in-all, [with] all the things we want to be better at, there were definite improvements.”

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 07: Jarome Luai of the Wests Tigers reacts during the round one NRL match between the Wests Tigers and Newcastle Knights at Campbelltown Sports Stadium on March 07, 2025, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

MAY OUTSHINES LUAI

While all the pre-match hype revolved around Tigers recruit Jarome Luai, there was no doubt that May was the star for the Tigers. In 66 minutes of play, the 25-year-old prop racked up an incredible 163 metres in the attack. One wonders if the Roosters regret releasing him after Thursday night’s debacle against the Broncos. That said, Luai had his moments. The former Penrith ace’s cross-field run set up the opening try for fellow new boy Jeral Skelton.

Kalyn Ponga saved the Knights numerous times with sound touches at the back. Picture: Getty Images

PONGA STANDS UP WHEN IT MATTERS

Despite a quiet first half when he was harried off the ball by the Tigers’ eager defence, Kalyn Ponga put in another good shift for the Novocastrians. His ability to defuse bombs and escape the in-goal after retrieving grubbers proved vital in the final wash-up.

GALVIN TOO QUICK TO KICK

Lachlan Galvin is an enormous talent, but his performance against the Knights left a little to be desired. His ineffective grubbers close to the Newcastle line stifled multiple promising attacking opportunities for the black, white and golds.

Originally published as New faces look good but bad old habits cost Wests Tigers as Newcastle Knights win