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Knights NRL final fairytale run suffers a cruel ending
George Clarke, AAP • October 5th, 2026 12:15 am
Knights players suffered heart-break, falling just short of a break-through premiership win | Photo: Mark Evans/AAP
Newcastle came so close to completing the NRL's ultimate high-wire act until their premiership pursuit came undone at the hands of conventional rugby league wisdom.
After claiming last season's wooden spoon, the Knights had dared to dream of completing the ultimate bounce-back before falling to a 19-18 grand final loss against the Sydney Roosters on Sunday.
And while the result will hurt for the legions of Novocastrians at Accor Stadium and back home, the fact Justin Holbrook's even reached the grand final is remarkable in itself.
Some Knights players looked inconsolable after their dream was wrecked by the Roosters | Photo: Mark Evans/AAP
They have boasted the worst completion rate of any side in the NRL this year but have tempered that with their ability to inflict pain on opponents from anywhere.
The Knights finished seventh - no side has won the competition from outside the top four since 1995 - and faced a sudden-death final for the last four weeks all with $2.5 million (AUD) of talent sitting on the sidelines.
Most sides would crumble with the losses of their halfback and first-choice front row pairing, but in Newcastle's case it has been the making of them.
They slayed South Sydney, the Warriors and Penrith, through the knockout stages and had shown a defensive fortitude to withstand anything that was thrown at them.
Try-scoring captain Kalyn Ponga did his best to rally the Knights as they fell behind | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
And Knights looked set for the most-prized finals scalp of their season on Sunday when they led 12-6 at halftime after being forced to defend 52 first-half play-the-balls in their own 50m.
Dom Young executed a perfect chopping tackle to deny Billy Smith and Kalyn Ponga jolted the ball loose from Mark Nawaqanitawase's grip as the rugby-bound winger looked certain to score a try.
Thomas Cant looked assured filling in at hooker for the suspended Phoenix Crossland, and despite the Roosters' dominance they had little to show for it.
The Knights scored twice to lead at halftime but were over-run after a rugged finals campaign | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
The Roosters had 84 per cent of the first-half territory, but somehow the Knights had found a way to lead with Francis Manuleleua cutting through for the opener and Ponga scoring a long-range effort.
The Knights continued to keep turning the Roosters away, with Sharpe felling James Tedesco and Sandon Smith stopping Salesi Foketi.
The Knights fans left Sydney disappointed, with their team unable to capture a long-awaited title | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
But eventually the mountain of pressure and territory from the first half - and the last three sapping weeks - began to tell.
Billy Smith fought through an exhausted Knights right edge to pull the Roosters level in the 48th minute and from there it felt like the Knights were on their knees.
Nawaqanitawase crashed over for a try and while Greg Marzhew dragged one back, Newcastle's last-minute attacking shift went to ground and the fairytale had fallen one point short.
