MATCH REPORT - THUNDER 18 - 24 KNIGHTS

Grandstand finish in final home game of 2022

Newcastle Thunder pushed York City Knights hard in Betfred Championship round 26 as the result remained in the balance right up to the full-time hooter.

On a sultry Tyneside evening, an early injury to Ata Hingano hampered the Knights’ early efforts and it was Newcastle who struck first after six minutes.

A clever shift of the play from the talismanic Josh Woods saw Thunder put Alex Donaghy into clear space, with the winger rounding fullback Matty Marsh to maintain his excellent scoring rate from recent weeks.

It remained unconverted, which allowed the Knights to take the lead when they struck back eight minutes later as James Glover wrested himself out of a tackle on the Thunder line for a converted score.

However, the hosts were in a combative mood and hit back almost immediately after a potent passage of play as a flowing move to the left looked to have played Isaac Nokes over for a well-taken try.

The centre was held up, but there was no stopping the Thunder moments later as Nathan Wilde ran a superb line and latched on to a gorgeous pass from Woods to break through and cross.

York took a slender lead into the break after a pair of quick offloads allowed a Ronan Dixon break to be kept alive, with Matty Marsh playing in Brendan O’Hagan for a simply converted score.

The start of the second half belonged to the hosts, but it was the Knights who scored first to extend their lead out to six points with 12 minutes played as Marsh delivered a delayed pass to Joe Brown and round out a quick break down the line.

With Newcastle not going away, a penalty in front of the posts on the hour saw York take the two but it was back to a four-point game with 12 minutes to go as Woods once again crafted a try with a clever option.

Forcing a drop-out, some lovely hands played in Craig Mullen though the extras were missed from out wide.

York effectively sealed the result through Tom Inman with four minutes left on the clock as the Knights punished a handling error close to the Thunder line, but there was late drama as Newcastle gave themselves the slightest sniff of chance with Donaghy’s second score.

A cut-out pass from Mullen with the line running at pace was an all-or-nothing option which York did their best to intercept, but when they were unable to gather, Thunder’s home-grown wing gleefully collected the ball before diving in for an acrobatic effort.

With a third conversion missed, Newcastle needed a length of the field play to snatch a draw, but a knock-on ensured the Knights rode out the late storm.

Newcastle Thunder

1 Craig Mullen, 5 Gideon Boafo, 36 Ellis Robson, 23 Isaac Nokes, 22 Alex Donaghy, 14 Connor Bailey, 7 Josh Woods, 16 Jay Chapelhow, 9 Josh Eaves, 15 Ted Chapelhow, 20 Brad Gallagher, 17 Ukuma Ta'ai, 8 Nathan Wilde

Interchanges

24 Jake Anderson, 27 Josh McDermott, 10 Mitch Clark, 19 Pat Moran

Tries: Donaghy (6, 79), Wilde (18), Mullen (69)

Goals: Woods 1/4

York City Knights

1 Matty Marsh, 2 Joe Brown, 3 James Glover, 28 Bailey Antrobus, 23 AJ Towse, 19 Liam Harris, 6 Brendan O'Hagan, 10 Jack Teanby, 9 Will Jubb, 13 Jordan Thompson, 11 Chris Clarkson, 17 Dan Kirmond, 35 Ata Hingano

Interchanges

34 Tom Inman, 15 Ronan Dixon, 16 Marcus Stock, 24 Ronan Michael 

Tries: Glover (14), O Hagan (31), Brown (53), Inman (76)

Goals: Harris 4/5