A spirited nib Newcastle Knights outfit have gone down 28-12 to the Melbourne Storm in Albury.
Coming off a 20-4 win over Cessnock last week, the Reserve Grade side fought hard after going down early to an impressive Storm outfit.
Led by halves Jonah Pezet and Cooper Johns, Melbourne ran in the first two tries of the game after their forward pack got on top of the contest early.
Johns played a key role in both four pointers, sending over winger Isaac Lumelume early before crossing himself in the next set.
Dan Ticehurst nabbed the Knights' first of the game after a quarter time drinks break, however it was Johns who again took the game by the scruff of the neck.
The crafty No.7 broke through cleanly on the half-way line, racing downfield and sending Michael Percell over to extend the Melbourne lead going into the sheds.
It was more of the same following the change of ends, with the Storm engine room overpowering the Knights early in the half and going on to dominate much of the contest.
A late try from winger Matt Soper-Lawler restored some respect to the scoreline in what was ultimately an afternoon to forget for the team.
