An understrength Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles suffered their second defeat in a row following a 26-14 loss to the Newcastle Knights in round 19 of The Knock On Effect NSW Cup today.
The side were looking to bounce back from a disappointing 28-10 loss to the North Sydney Bears last week but were ultimately no match against a resilient Knights side.
Blacktown went into the game without prolific tryscoring centre Clayton Faulalo and half-back Jamie Humphreys with both making their NRL debuts.
The loss sees the Sea Eagles remain in eighth place with 20 points with seven matches to play.
Newcastle opened the scoring after two minutes as hooker Riley Jones crashed over next to the posts for an early 6-0 lead.
Manly bounced back in the ninth minute with a sensational diving effort from Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega in the corner. The winger got the ball 15 metres out from the line after a quick shift and tiptoed along the sideline before pushing past three defenders to ground the ball to level the scores at 6-all.
The cogs continued to turn for Blacktown as they streaked downfield with ease minutes later. Hooker Daniel O’Donnell found himself in open space after a smart run out of dummy half. The debutant threw a pass to the supporting Dean Matterson, who was unable to hold onto the ball.
Aaron Schoupp, who joined the club in May, was unfortunately forced from the field with a leg injury in the 18th minute. Brad Parker shifted from his newfound second-rower position to centre with ease, having played 103 games there in his career.
Newcastle regained the lead in the 34th minute after capitalising on a mistake from Blacktown deep in their own half. Winger Hayden Sutton went over untouched after a well-timed final pass from centre Kyle McCarthy for a 12-6 scoreline.
The Knights scored their third two minutes before halftime as winger Logan Aoake forced his way over. His centre partner Thomas Jenkins threw a miraculous flick-pass to the winger, who dived over to take the score to 16-6 at the break.
The visitors continued their form from the first half and carried it into the second half with two tries in five minutes. Sutton and Aoake both scored their second try in the 42nd and 47th minute to extend their lead to 26-6.
The Sea Eagles scored in the 70th minute through full-back Jaxson Paulo after a quick shift to the left for a 26-10 scoreline.
Tuaimalo Vaega grabbed his second try in the corner with five minutes remaining for a 26-14 scoreline.
The Sea Eagles take on the Panthers in round 20 of the NSW Cup at Panthers Stadium, Penrith, on Sunday July 21 at 11.45am.
Knights 26 (Sutton 2, Aoake 2, Jones tries, Votano 3/5 goals) d Sea Eagles 14 (Tuaimalo Vaega 2, Jaxson Paulo tries; Schoupp goal)
