Dane Gagai has enjoyed a dream return to Newcastle, scoring a try in his second coming for the club in a massive upset win over the Sydney Roosters.
Adam O’Brien’s side piled on four tries to one against their more fancied opponents to run out 20-6 winners in front of a stunned crowd at the SCG.
The win was Newcastle’s first against the Roosters in a match played in Sydney since 2009. It also helped break a horror run which had seen the Roosters win 14 out of the last 16 meetings between the two sides.
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Prior to today’s clash, the Knights’ most recent win against the Roosters outside of Newcastle had come in 2010 in Gosford.
Gagai starred in his first match for Newcastle since 2017, finishing with 17 runs, 114 metres, seven tackle busts and a try, and was named “the best player on the field” by NRL legend Cooper Cronk on Fox League’s coverage.
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Knights skipper Kalyn Ponga was thrilled by the 31-year-old’s performance, lauding his impact on Newcastle’s youngsters.
“He’s been awesome for us to be honest,” Ponga told Fox League after the match. “It’s good to have him back in these colours.
“He brings so much experience to this group. He’s an outside back but he’s like a half when he’s on the field, he’s telling me what to do.
“He’s been great for our younger boys out the back, just his experience and his talk it’s invaluable.”
Despite coming into the match as underdogs, the Knights’ offence looked dangerous throughout the contest, with Gagai, Enari Tuala, Jake Clifford and Dominic Young all scoring tries.
The match began in ominous fashion for the Knights, with Trent Robinson’s men piling on the pressure early.
Sydney’s territorial dominance looked to have paid off when a terrific line break from Daniel Tupou allowed James Tedesco to cross after 10 minutes.
However, the try was soon chalked off after The Bunker determined that Connor Watson had stopped David Klemmer from tackling Tupou in the lead-up.
Seemingly buoyed by the early reprieve, the Knights capitalised soon after due to an uncharacteristic mistake from Tedesco.
With the Knights in possession, Clifford launched a kick into orbit on the fourth tackle, and Tedesco appeared to have ages to clean it up but decided to let the ball bounce.
However, a devilish bounce saw the ball go directly over the Roosters No.1’s head before bobbling away, giving Clifford time to chase his own kick and pile on the pressure.
An on-rushing Clifford saw Tedesco fumble the ball, leading to an easy try for Gagai.
The Knights continued to dominate, with Bradman Best wreaking havoc on the right side of the Roosters’ defence.
Best was central to the Knights’ second try, with a monster fend allowing Tuala to score in the left corner.
Clifford added a third try in the 56th minute, capitalising on yet another sloppy play from the Roosters which saw the entire team freeze following a drop from Siosiua Taukeiaho.
Even the sin-binning of Phoenix Crossland in the 59th minute could not stop the Knights’ momentum, and Dominic Young sealed the win with a sensational finish in the 72nd minute.
There was a brief reprieve for the Roosters, with Paul Momirovski helping his team avoid a try-less performance when he crossed in the 76th minute, but it proved to be a case of too little, too late.
To make matters worse for the Roosters, Victor Radley was forced off the field in the first half and would not return due to a concussion.
Radley was left dazed after a tackle attempt on Best, but was allowed to remain on the field for several minutes following the incident, before an independent doctor called for him to come off the field for a HIA.
The 23-year-old was ruled out minutes before the half-time break, with his head knock categorised as ‘Category One’ by the doctor, the most severe grade.
The Roosters’ task gets no easier in Round 2 with a blockbuster clash against the Manly Sea Eagles next Friday. Newcastle will look to continue its strong start to the season when it hosts the Wests Tigers at McDonald Jones Stadium.