The Knights walked off McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday afternoon with a four-game losing streak finally broken, but only just. Kalyn Ponga in his first appearance since Round 2 and Greg Marzhew in his first since concussion led the home side to 42-38 over South Sydney in front of 23,413 fans. The Rabbitohs were 28-10 down at half-time and finished within four points after a Trey Mooney try with six minutes to go iced the result. The Knights move to 3-6 and stay in the top-eight conversation. The Rabbitohs slip to 4-5 with a road game against the Roosters next.
Ponga and Marzhew Light Up the First Half
The first 40 minutes were the Knights' best of the season. Ponga, fresh off the hamstring scare, was named at the centre of every Newcastle structural play. He scored two tries himself, set up two more for Marzhew, and converted six attempts at goal. The first half was 28-10 Knights, with 64 per cent possession and 890 run metres to the Rabbitohs' 492. Marzhew's first two tries came either side of a Dylan Lucas try, both either side of half-time the Bunnies could not contain him. Sean Keppie answered for Souths in the 27th minute and Latrell Mitchell converted, but the Knights answered with Marzhew's double minutes later.
Mitchell finished the day with eight tackle breaks, five line-break assists, 164 run metres and the kind of late performance that has the Origin selectors looking. The Bunnies fought back through Cody Walker tries and Mitchell's metres, drawing within two before Mooney sealed it.
The Comeback That Nearly Was
Latrell Mitchell scored or set up nearly every Souths try in the second half. By the 66th minute, the gap was four points at 36-32, with Mitchell converting a Walker grubber that bounced back to the Souths five-eighth for a try. The Knights answered with Marzhew's hat-trick effort in the 63rd minute, the boom winger defying three cover defenders to ground at the corner. Ponga's sideline conversion was a beauty.
The contest tightened back when Walker scored to make it a four-point game with 14 minutes remaining. Then a Euan Aitken error gave the Knights field position, and Dylan Brown's offload found Mooney to score under the posts in the 74th minute. Ponga added the extras and Newcastle were home. Ponga finished on report for a late shot but the result stood, with the Knights going 14 minutes without conceding to close it out.
Where the Markets Land
The Knights opened the day at $2.40 about a Rabbitohs side that had thumped the Storm a fortnight earlier. They closed at $1.92 with Souths shifting from $1.55 to $1.92 across kickoff. The line of -2.5 the Bunnies' way came home by 6.5 with the Knights covering. Sunday's result has Newcastle into the eight conversation at $4.50 to make the finals at Picklebet, while the Bunnies have drifted from $1.45 to $1.65 to make the eight despite the loss. Mitchell's Origin market has firmed to $1.18 to start at NSW centre. The Knights face the Storm at AAMI Park on Saturday in a Round 10 fixture that has been a Bellamy stronghold for years, but with Melbourne on a club-record seven-game losing streak the lines have shifted.
Round 9 closes Sunday night with Penrith's 18-16 escape against Manly at CommBank Stadium, ending the Sea Eagles' four-game winning streak under Kieran Foran. Full Round 9 results and the Marzhew post-match interview are at ABC Sport.