The nib Newcastle Knights' time in South East Queensland has gotten off to a less-than-ideal start, going down 48-4 to the Melbourne Storm at CBus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast.
Originally slated to be played at AAMI Park in Melbourne, the game was relocated on Thursday following the snap Victorian lockdown.
With the Knights also coming off a disrupted preparation, relocating to the Sunshine Coast and losing Mitchell Pearce and Daniel Saifiti before kick off, it was the Storm who got the better start.
A pair of errors from Dominic Young in the opening few minutes put the Knights under the pump, with Justin Olam taking full advantage when he burst onto a Nicho Hynes short ball to open the scoring.
They had their second soon after, with Brandon Smith and Jahrome Hughes combining to send Munster over untouched.
George Jennings made it three just a few minutes later, and Melbourne appeared to be well on their way at 18-0.
While the Storm juggernaut was impressive in full flight, Newcastle failed to help their cause with a 60% completion rate in the opening half hour.
Along with four set restarts conceded, the Knights enjoyed just 35% of possession as a result.
As we all know, you simply can not afford to give Melbourne that many chances with the ball.
While the ship was steadied at the back end of the half, Lady Luck's cruel hand dealt the Knights some horror blows.
David Klemmer and Kalyn Ponga left the field with HIA's, and an awful bounce of the ball left Connor Watson all at sea at the back, with Hughes crossing for try No.4.
A late try to Hynes made it 30-0 at the break.
The Storm picked up where they left off after the break, with Reimis Smith and Jennings grabbing a try each before Young opened the scoring for Newcastle.
Olam added a try in the final quarter to rub salt in the Knights wounds, with the red and blue now tasked with bouncing back against the Sydney Roosters on the Sunshine Coast next week.
